WIGGLED Synonyms: 29 Similar and Opposite Words

wiggled

verb

past tense of wiggle

as in twitched

to make jerky or restless movements the baby wiggled in her sleep

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of wiggled Hawaii put runners on base in each of the first four innings, but Kirk wiggled out of it until the fifth when Waiki Doctolero blasted a three-run home run to get Hawaii back in the game. — Dennis Pope, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026 Punk eventually tried to go for the GTS, but Rhodes wiggled out and caught Punk in a headlock. — Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026 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

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

Definition of twitched

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

Definition of fidgeted

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

Definition of squirmed

Verb

In his second start since returning from the 15-day Injured List, Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan tossed five shutout innings and gave up four hits.

— Harvey Valentine, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2026
Most injuries occurred as residents were tossed from beds or stumbled in the dark; trains and airport links were briefly disrupted, a Tokyo water main burst, and hundreds lost power.

— Mari Yamaguchi, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of tossed

Verb

But in 1933, within a matter of days, they were jerked back into reality.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
Once the squid gather near the surface, lines fitted with bait are lowered into the water and rapidly jerked up and down to imitate small prey such as shrimp, triggering strikes before the catch is reeled aboard.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 20 June 2026

Definition of jerked

Verb

Install one specific buffer this week that protects the behavior from being extinguished or twisted into belligerence.

— Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Laws and elections can quickly shift the balance of power in the game, and the rules can be subverted or twisted to your advantage through the deft deployment of crushing bureaucracy.

— Alan Bradley, Space.com, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of twisted

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

Definition of fiddled

Browse Nearby Words

wiggle

wiggled

wiggle room

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“Wiggled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wiggled. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of wiggled

verb

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