as in twitching
to make jerky or restless movements
the baby wiggled in her sleep
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Recent Examples of wiggling
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, 7 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
The dogs couldn't stand still, wiggling their bodies enthusiastically.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
To train the decoder, each person would imagine a series of different movements (like moving their whole right arm or wiggling their left thumb) while the researchers looked at the data coming from the electrodes and tried to find the most obvious and reliable signal.
—Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 21 Feb. 2017
Grace Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 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
The dogs couldn't stand still, wiggling their bodies enthusiastically.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
To train the decoder, each person would imagine a series of different movements (like moving their whole right arm or wiggling their left thumb) while the researchers looked at the data coming from the electrodes and tried to find the most obvious and reliable signal.
—Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 21 Feb. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wiggling
Verb
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Picture objects levitating or twitching without external interference—or switching rooms.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 Oct. 2025
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Any dairy farmer can tell you that biting flies are a pestilent scourge for cattle herds, which is why one so often sees cows throwing their heads, stamping their feet, flicking their tails, and twitching their skin—desperately trying to shake off the nasty creatures.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Applause intermingled with tears as the families of the Camp Mystic campers and counselors looked on, many with small children fidgeting in their Sunday-best attire behind the governor.—
Rebekah Riess,
CNN Money,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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An annual tradition in the legal circle, as well as his UCLA symposium sit-downs, the hourlong speech from the predominantly softspoken Ziffren clearly had a few attendees squirming in their seats near the end.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
30 Oct. 2025
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Hungry birds looking for dozens of squirming caterpillars a day to feed their young can easily find the insects on oak trees.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The brawl spilled outside of the ring, with Punk tossing Paul into a barricade.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
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Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been charged with taking bribes from sports bettors to intentionally throw certain types of pitches, including tossing balls instead of strikes to ensure successful bets.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
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To that point, Olympia shouldn’t be allowed to play the jury the tear-jerking recording of Frank’s final phone call home as the water rose.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
-
The Surprise Lining The most tear-jerking moment, however, was kept secret until the very last minute.—
Maria Morava,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Land of Spooks is a phantasmagorical blend of twisting gothic spires, impossible land formations, and disconcerting expressionist proportions.—
Kambole Campbell,
IndieWire,
4 Nov. 2025
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This stabilizing exercise targets the muscles that control your foot twisting outward (peroneal muscles) and the ones that control your foot twisting inward (tibialis posterior).—
Jakob Roze,
Health,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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But in private, Arthur advises her to exercise a little more discretion in her, um, fiddling.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
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The party that fails this test will be remembered — if at all — as the one fiddling while Rome was automated.—
Matt K. Lewis,
Twin Cities,
19 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wiggling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wiggling. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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