wormed

past tense of worm
1
as in encroached
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits neighborhoods worming into lands reserved for wildlife

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in infiltrated
to introduce in a gradual, secret, or clever way over a period of several years, the undercover agent was able to worm his way into the drug kingpin's confidence

Synonyms & Similar Words

3
as in crept
to move slowly with the body close to the ground the cat silently wormed along the ground as it snuck up on the bird

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wormed
Verb
  • From the deadly 2025 Los Angeles fires to the devastating 2019-2020 Australian bushfires and the 2018 wildfire in Athens, Greece, flames have increasingly encroached upon human settlements, claiming lives and livelihoods.
    Seyd Teymoor Seydi, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2025
  • In the post, the woman described a situation in which the man seated next to her allegedly encroached on her space during the flight, with his thigh pressed against hers and the shared armrest raised.
    Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Applicators infiltrated cities across the nation, coating the chemical on street trees, parks and front lawns.
    Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Someone with delusions may think the Central Intelligence Agency has infiltrated their phone to spy on them, Weinberger said, and thus remove the phone’s battery.
    Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The wildfires ignited Tuesday as a monsoonal storm crept north across the state, unleashing more than 9,000 lightning strikes, according to Cal Fire.
    Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Wall Street’s fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index, surged 15% on Tuesday as jitters crept back onto Wall Street.
    John Towfighi, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • On Wednesday, a similar scene closely followed as the funeral procession for Kansas City, Kansas, police officer Hunter Simoncic crawled along through the highways and streets in the community Simoncic worked to keep safe.
    Emily Curiel, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Eby crawled across a ladder over the water to the vehicle, then crawled back with the child on his back, the video shows.
    Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • That piece of information will definitely capture the attention of Swifties, as many of them were quick to speculate that Swift had snuck in teasers about her future ventures — such as potentially headlining Super Bowl 2026, for instance — into the episode.
    Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 27 Aug. 2025
  • Flesh-eating screwworm larvae poised to invade the US have snuck into Maryland via the flesh of a person who had recently traveled to El Salvador, upping anxiety about the ghastly—and economically costly—parasite.
    Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Lines snaked around every outside court, contrasting sharply with the ones only in use for practice, sparsely and quietly populated with players honing their skills for the bigger stages.
    Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
  • Hundreds of energized voters snaked around Union Square on Sunday afternoon, as New Yorkers sought one of the limited Zohran Mamdani Scavenger Hunt cards at the first clue stop.
    Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Fatemian simply bunches each slice slightly, creating a ruffled, flower-like radish slice that is then inserted between the rest of the vegetables.
    Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Royals manager Matt Quatraro inserted utilityman Nick Loftin into the game for defense.
    Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Despite turnaround efforts, shares of Kraft Heinz have slid roughly 60% since the merger closed in 2015.
    Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Plenty of guys have slid into her DMs, but none are local to her.
    Charles Trepany, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025
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.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wormed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wormed. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on wormed

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!