as in twitching
to make jerky or restless movements
the baby wiggled in her sleep
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Recent Examples of wiggling
Spencer took out his phone and played a recording of his daughter telling the wiggling story.
—
John Kenney, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Dakar captures their tractor turning over the earth and storks swooping down for wiggling worms to feed their young.
—Alissa Simon, Variety, 4 Feb. 2026
The high-protein hype has reached a fever pitch, and Parmesan cheese is wiggling its way into the cultural conversation.
—Michele Ross, SELF, 20 Jan. 2026
Laughing and wiggling her body, Fiona begins to roll over onto her stomach, ending up closer to Huckleberry.
—Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
After that failed, with the student wiggling out of the coat and hitting, kicking and trying to bite the teacher, the teacher said, the school security guard returned to the van with tube socks.
—Grace Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer, 14 Nov. 2025
Pressurizing the actuator gets you one single actuation, but to make the actuator wiggle (wiggling being an absolutely necessary skill for any robot), the gas has to be cyclically released.
—IEEE Spectrum, 14 Nov. 2025
Parents and kids will encounter wiggling, stretching, and breathing exercises in each episode, giving your child that consistent routine their bodies need to sleep well, night after night.
—Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 29 Oct. 2025
That led to him extending both hands and wiggling them in a wave-type motion.
—Jesse Newell, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
John Kenney, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Dakar captures their tractor turning over the earth and storks swooping down for wiggling worms to feed their young.
—Alissa Simon, Variety, 4 Feb. 2026
The high-protein hype has reached a fever pitch, and Parmesan cheese is wiggling its way into the cultural conversation.
—Michele Ross, SELF, 20 Jan. 2026
Laughing and wiggling her body, Fiona begins to roll over onto her stomach, ending up closer to Huckleberry.
—Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
After that failed, with the student wiggling out of the coat and hitting, kicking and trying to bite the teacher, the teacher said, the school security guard returned to the van with tube socks.
—Grace Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer, 14 Nov. 2025
Pressurizing the actuator gets you one single actuation, but to make the actuator wiggle (wiggling being an absolutely necessary skill for any robot), the gas has to be cyclically released.
—IEEE Spectrum, 14 Nov. 2025
Parents and kids will encounter wiggling, stretching, and breathing exercises in each episode, giving your child that consistent routine their bodies need to sleep well, night after night.
—Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 29 Oct. 2025
That led to him extending both hands and wiggling them in a wave-type motion.
—Jesse Newell, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wiggling
Verb
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Here, American fighter planes, cargo ships and Japanese freighters have spent decades transforming into thriving artificial reefs, draped in coral and surrounded by twitching clouds of tropical fish.—
Dea Jusufi,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2026
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Curry’s body began convulsing and twitching with increasing severity, consistent with him sustaining a traumatic brain injury from being punched in the face, documents state.—
Deborah Laverty,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Pekara said hospital surveillance footage captured him fidgeting under the blanket.—
Caroline Kubzansky,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
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As the court moved to watch the KSTU-TV segment, Tyler Robinson appeared to begin fidgeting, with one of his hands moving and rubbing his fingers back and forth.—
Stepheny Price , Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The veterans, of course, are terrific with one later episode set on a plane that finds Mulligan in top squirming form.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
16 Apr. 2026
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Like him, Rue is squirming under Laurie’s thumb, anxious to get out.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Straw, wearing a jacket clearly marked with an Oak Park logo, was captured on one video tossing his Dunkin’ Donuts coffee onto the windshield of the Tahoe.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
22 May 2026
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Or, in this case, cutting things up with scissors and tossing them around.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
Verb
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According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of seizures can include short-term confusion, staring spells, stiff muscles and jerking movements of the arms and legs.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
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Avoid jerking the floss or aggressive movements; instead, use smooth, gentle motions.—
Sherri Gordon,
Health,
12 May 2026
Verb
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Giant titanium face sculptures from previous installations reappear among the vessel surfaces, while elongated, twisting faces hang throughout the space.—
Anthony DeMarco,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
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Bystander video posted to Facebook showed two jets making contact in the air, then twisting and careening in the sky before hitting the ground and erupting in a plume of dirt and fire.—
Tom Dreisbach,
NPR,
17 May 2026
Verb
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On Sunday, the lineup includes Tatiana Hargreaves, a rising-star in the bluegrass fiddling scene, with her band and special guest Michael Daves; the honky-tonk duo Caleb Lauder and Reeb Wllms with their band the Cali Cutups; and Pleasanton native and all-world strings player Tony Furtado.—
Randy McMullen,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2026
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But none of these tracks really explore their ideas as much as just fiddling in place, with any initial energy fizzling out almost immediately.—
Sam Goldner,
Pitchfork,
9 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wiggling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wiggling. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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