1
as in fidgeted
to make jerky or restless movements
the dog twitched in her sleep
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2
as in jerked
to move or cause to move with a sharp quick motion
the rabbit twitched its nose
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Recent Examples of twitched
Baby Briana’s arms twitched and legs flopped against cold concrete.
—
Jayme Fraser, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
The bonito’s body twitched until Yamasaki slid a thin metal wire down the column of its spinal cord, a second step called shinkei jime, which arrests its nervous system.
—Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
Their usefulness remains an open question At the back of a conference hall at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, a humanoid robot twitched through a preprogrammed wave for a crowd of cell phone cameras—a classic scene of high spectacle and unclear utility at CES.
—Eric Sullivan, Scientific American, 6 Jan. 2026
As the drugs flowed, Randolph's eyes were closed and his face twitched slightly.
—David Fischer The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 21 Nov. 2025
His eyes twitched in rapid blinks, his lips disappeared as if cold fury were coursing through his body.
—George Packer, The Atlantic, 6 Nov. 2025
Her hand twitched from the heat.
—Zuzana Říhová, Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025
My hand twitched toward the phone, muscle memory stronger than willpower.
—Maggie Downs, Oc Register, 9 Sep. 2025
The mechanism for raising and lowering the pen made a weak clunking sound and barely twitched.
—Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 27 June 2025
Jayme Fraser, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
The bonito’s body twitched until Yamasaki slid a thin metal wire down the column of its spinal cord, a second step called shinkei jime, which arrests its nervous system.
—Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
Their usefulness remains an open question At the back of a conference hall at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, a humanoid robot twitched through a preprogrammed wave for a crowd of cell phone cameras—a classic scene of high spectacle and unclear utility at CES.
—Eric Sullivan, Scientific American, 6 Jan. 2026
As the drugs flowed, Randolph's eyes were closed and his face twitched slightly.
—David Fischer The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 21 Nov. 2025
His eyes twitched in rapid blinks, his lips disappeared as if cold fury were coursing through his body.
—George Packer, The Atlantic, 6 Nov. 2025
Her hand twitched from the heat.
—Zuzana Říhová, Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025
My hand twitched toward the phone, muscle memory stronger than willpower.
—Maggie Downs, Oc Register, 9 Sep. 2025
The mechanism for raising and lowering the pen made a weak clunking sound and barely twitched.
—Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 27 June 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for twitched
Verb
-
Children fidgeted in the relentless August heat.—
Jacqui Gifford,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Aisha jerked and opened her eyes.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Jan. 2026
-
The two stood nose-to-nose on the field when the Steelers player grabbed onto Chase’s facemask, jerked his head and appeared to punch him.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
16 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The open section of their session lasted for 15 minutes — and Howe will have squirmed through every second — but there were laughs amid the stretches and shuttle runs.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Alcaraz yanked a hard inside-in forehand that ticked the top of the net, before stopping almost dead and bouncing twice on Djokovic’s side.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Thom yanked on his jeans, gave me one last sharp look and slammed the door.—
Nick Dothée,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
YouCopia ShelfBin Packet Organizer Avoid spice packets getting buried in drawers or tossed to the back of cabinets.—
Clint Davis,
PEOPLE,
4 Feb. 2026
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Ramzy Tabello, the owner of the store, said the suspect tossed between $750,000-$1 million worth of jewelry into trash cans.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The entire tech industry lurched into motion.—
MacKenzie Sigalos,
CNBC,
10 Jan. 2026
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The relentless Chacon lurched outside after her just as his car door opened and out popped their 6-year-old son, begging his dad to stop.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Orton wiggled out, and Zayn got a quick roll-up for two.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
-
As soon as Rocky woke up, his tail began wagging furiously, and his entire body wiggled with excitement.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The officers did not draw their guns until Chakraborty pulled the knife, NYPD officials said.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
4 Feb. 2026
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Hundreds of thousands canceled their subscriptions after Bezos pulled a Kamala Harris endorsement from the opinion section in 2024, according to CJR.—
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Twitched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/twitched. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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