as in fidgets
to make jerky or restless movements
the toddler squirmed the whole time we were in the waiting room
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Recent Examples of squirms
Lincee Ray Published, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Verb
When Brian and Murtagh report that Dougal offended the Grants and Colum had to promise Ellen’s hand to appease the situation, Lord Lovat squirms.
—Lincee Ray Published, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squirms
Verb
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The man fidgets, shifts around in his seat and fixates on Zarutska before pulling out a small knife and striking her multiple times around her neck.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Royals suffered another crushing defeat and are now 16-15 in 2026 when their pitcher tosses a quality start.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
3 June 2026
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When a female of the species shows up to check out a male’s fancy digs, the male tosses his shiniest objects in her direction and shows off his plumage in hopes of impressing her.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
2 June 2026
Verb
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Persistent muscle twitches Everyone’s muscles twitch from time to time, usually at various locations.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
15 Jan. 2026
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Some devices, for example, track eye movements or other small muscle twitches to let users select words from a screen.—
Emma R. Hasson,
Scientific American,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In a viral video of the aftermath, the robot jerks back and forth to shake the glass off, showering yet more dangerous shards onto the sidewalk.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
26 Mar. 2026
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Ross’s video does not show if the SUV made contact with him, as the camera angle jerks up to the sky.—
Danya Gainor,
CNN Money,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The Canadians have some advantages here, including a more cohesive polity able to overcome conservative/liberal differences and agree on basics such as creating more jobs, and building better education and retraining systems to deal with AI’s dislocations.—
David Bloom,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2026
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These include endometriosis, POTS (a disorder of the autonomic nervous system), and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (a tissue disorder that causes joint pain, dislocations, and fatigue).—
Ellie Austin,
Fortune,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Buttermilk the cow is an interactive toy that sings, wiggles its ears, and teaches little ones animal sounds.—
Anja Webb,
Parents,
28 Nov. 2025
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His body wiggles with excitement, signaling his tail is wagging.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Initially, the team was studying the motions of stars within the globular cluster using data from both Euclid and the Hubble Space Telescope.—
Samantha Mathewson,
Space.com,
4 June 2026
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Kayla Bartkowski/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Through her motions, Karen Read's legal team gained access to the texts too and they were released in Read's civil lawsuit against the Massachusetts State Police and Canton Police.—
Louisa Moller,
CBS News,
4 June 2026
Verb
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Reid writhes in front of Zaman, sticking out his tongue in one take, running his hand down his body in another, all while a gigantic technocrane zooms overhead.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
2 June 2026
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The truth risks bringing down the whole edifice, which is why the system writhes to hide who takes decisions large and small.—
Azadeh Moaveni,
Time,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Squirms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squirms. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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