as in twitched
to make jerky or restless movements
the baby wiggled in her sleep
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Recent Examples of wiggled
Femi tried to hit Lesnar with a Fall from Grace, but Lesnar wiggled out of it.
—
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 31 May 2026
De Avila nearly wiggled out of a huge jam in the first inning, producing two strikeouts after the Knights loaded the bases with no outs.
—Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2026
Advertisement Not every variety-show booking delighted every viewer (just ask the stiffs who hyperventilated when Elvis wiggled his hips on Sullivan’s stage), but there was enough, most nights, to captivate tens of millions of them.
—Judy Berman, Time, 22 May 2026
Then, Parker took out a little piece of (fake) foreskin, put it on his finger — that had little eyes drawn on it — and wiggled it for the camera.
—Marlow Stern, Variety, 19 May 2026
Pebbles twitched, branches waggled, cholla wiggled, weeds erupted then dried up and died.
—Alina Hartounian, NPR, 20 Apr. 2026
Over at the Place Pigalle, salty comedians told jokes as exotic dancers wiggled their stuff.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2026
Poking at the dirt outside of the home with a sharp metal rod soldered to a handle, Tello wiggled the rod around, pulled it out, and smelled it.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 27 Feb. 2026
Pierce wiggled, jumped, twisted, pulled, huffed and puffed his way out of that straitjacket, taking a little bow at the end.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 25 Feb. 2026
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 31 May 2026
De Avila nearly wiggled out of a huge jam in the first inning, producing two strikeouts after the Knights loaded the bases with no outs.
—Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2026
Advertisement Not every variety-show booking delighted every viewer (just ask the stiffs who hyperventilated when Elvis wiggled his hips on Sullivan’s stage), but there was enough, most nights, to captivate tens of millions of them.
—Judy Berman, Time, 22 May 2026
Then, Parker took out a little piece of (fake) foreskin, put it on his finger — that had little eyes drawn on it — and wiggled it for the camera.
—Marlow Stern, Variety, 19 May 2026
Pebbles twitched, branches waggled, cholla wiggled, weeds erupted then dried up and died.
—Alina Hartounian, NPR, 20 Apr. 2026
Over at the Place Pigalle, salty comedians told jokes as exotic dancers wiggled their stuff.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2026
Poking at the dirt outside of the home with a sharp metal rod soldered to a handle, Tello wiggled the rod around, pulled it out, and smelled it.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 27 Feb. 2026
Pierce wiggled, jumped, twisted, pulled, huffed and puffed his way out of that straitjacket, taking a little bow at the end.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 25 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wiggled
Verb
-
Many a club’s board would have twitched in the face of the bare data, but the chain of command above Arteta stayed the course, and the FOMO is so high that tickets for Palace away this weekend are going for £45,000 ($60,000) on resale sites.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
-
My jaw twitched uncontrollably.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
One woman ordered some home furniture while two children fidgeted nearby.—
David Lyons,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Between each dance was an excruciating silence during which network-TV producers monitored and reset their equipment while the men fidgeted onstage like excitable children.—
Rebecca Jennings,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Belloumi’s 64th-minute strike with his left foot broke the deadlock in the second game of the two-leg affair and Gelhardt made sure with a low shot that squirmed past the Millwall goalkeeper.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 May 2026
-
His Japanese guest, usually a paragon of diplomatic cool, visibly squirmed.—
Andreas Kluth,
Twin Cities,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Pacheco’s absence hurt Covina (16-13-1), which threw five wild pitches in the dirt after the catcher was tossed.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 June 2026
-
Young also tossed a deep ball to him in 11-on-11 work early in practice, but that was broken up by cornerback Jaycee Horn.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
In the summer of 2020, former Morgan Stanley trader Adam Crawley was wandering through Indonesia, Thailand and Australia, perfecting his qigong with a man called Master YanG, when a cold message on LinkedIn jerked him back to reality.—
Phoebe Liu,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
-
John jerked Maggie back by the elbow and stopped her from stepping into the street.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
One problem growers commonly encounter is twisted or curling tomato leaves.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
29 May 2026
-
Back in 2017, fellow Belgian David Goffin twisted his ankle on tarp at the back of a court at Roland Garros.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
But what does some scientist know about eating fruit, of all things, when your hamstring feels like it’s being fiddled by Satan?—
Dan England,
Outside,
5 Feb. 2026
-
As Rossini stowed her purse in a tiny back office, a manager named Katie Atlas was onboarding a new employee, a young woman who fiddled nervously with her necklace.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wiggled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wiggled. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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