as in squirmy
making jerky or restless movements
a can of wiggly worms
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Recent Examples of wiggly
Teaching first grade has always involved dealing with wiggly and talkative kids.
—
Stacker, Hartford Courant, 9 May 2026
At the edges of the channel, near the walls, Rout and Lim’s team saw rapid fluctuations of molecules — those were the wiggly nucleoporins.
—Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 9 Mar. 2026
The team then carefully lowers Caterpillar into the water, where the mother rushes to scoop her pup up as the two share a wiggly embrace.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 13 Nov. 2025
These collectible molds give your favorite (or most hated) dishes a jiggly, wiggly twist.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 11 Nov. 2025
Those people under him are suckling on his piggly-wiggly titties.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 10 Nov. 2025
Alvar Aalto’s wiggly vase is instantly recognizable—a collectible item that will properly commemorate the special occasion.
—Erika Owen, Architectural Digest, 7 Oct. 2025
Like the wiggly jelly noodles in the spectacular jiang feng ($13), served cold.
—Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Being long and skinny and wiggly is a strategy that’s been wildly successful for animals, ever since there have been animals, more or less.
—Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum, 16 May 2025
Stacker, Hartford Courant, 9 May 2026
At the edges of the channel, near the walls, Rout and Lim’s team saw rapid fluctuations of molecules — those were the wiggly nucleoporins.
—Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 9 Mar. 2026
The team then carefully lowers Caterpillar into the water, where the mother rushes to scoop her pup up as the two share a wiggly embrace.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 13 Nov. 2025
These collectible molds give your favorite (or most hated) dishes a jiggly, wiggly twist.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 11 Nov. 2025
Those people under him are suckling on his piggly-wiggly titties.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 10 Nov. 2025
Alvar Aalto’s wiggly vase is instantly recognizable—a collectible item that will properly commemorate the special occasion.
—Erika Owen, Architectural Digest, 7 Oct. 2025
Like the wiggly jelly noodles in the spectacular jiang feng ($13), served cold.
—Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Being long and skinny and wiggly is a strategy that’s been wildly successful for animals, ever since there have been animals, more or less.
—Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum, 16 May 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wiggly
Adjective
-
With that disclosure out in the open, the rest of the squirmy attendees subtly sank deeper into their seats, accepting Steinem’s orbit as a safe space.—
Savannah Walsh,
Vanity Fair,
22 Apr. 2026
-
One of them is a squirmy, intensely relatable dark comedy about the escalating horrors of planning a wedding.—
Hannah Jocelyn,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Even Jason notices the guests are fidgety.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
24 Feb. 2026
-
The two go toe-to-toe in power and precision, but the Breville’s intuitive assembly is a massive improvement on the Cuisinart’s notoriously fidgety and fussy locking mechanisms.—
Noah Kaufman,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The song crashes together distorted guitar and twitchy electronic production to create what feels akin to having a panic attack at a rave.—
SPIN Staff,
SPIN,
8 May 2026
-
Strictly as an athlete, Perkins is impressive with sideline-to-sideline range, twitchy burst and speed to close.—
Josh Kendall,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Medieval Christians looked at the very same phenomenon and imagined it as a reflection of divine will, the transformation of a wriggly worm into a flying jewel an earthly reminder of the transfiguration of Jesus to Christ.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Last month, despite Orbán’s formidable, long-standing attempts to rig the legal and electoral systems in his favor, Magyar won, in a stunning upset.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
-
Gunther was upset that Rhodes was taking his screen time.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
9 May 2026
Adjective
-
Reformers were worried that putting more money into the hands of local school districts, without oversight to ensure that it was being spent effectively, would lead to its diversion into administration and more generous union contracts rather than hands-on instruction for kids who needed it most.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
14 May 2026
-
Yu said that, as China has strengthened its social safety net, people are less worried about having to rely on others.—
Janis Mackey Frayer,
NBC news,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
Altman seemed slightly nervous as the cross-examination got underway.—
Ashley Capoot,
CNBC,
12 May 2026
-
Suddenly, and very publicly, Russian officials appeared nervous, afraid that their parade would be spoiled.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
Adjective
-
In Louisiana, nearly 180,000 early ballots for House races already cast won’t be counted under the redrawn districts, leaving voters like Sallie Davis anxious their votes won’t be tallied.—
John Hanna,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
-
Viral genetics Researchers around the globe are also anxious to get the genomic data of the ANDV virus.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wiggly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wiggly. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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