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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wormed
OpenAI’s ChatGPT has wormed its way into more and more parts of consumers’ lives, from work to their children’s education, and even mental health and romantic relationships.
—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
16 May 2026
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum initially believed that the bug, which eluded detection and caused countless medical issues, wormed its way into her system while filming Bravo's The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip in Morocco in early 2023.
—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Feb. 2026
We as a community contain (often brain-wormed) multitudes, as evidenced by this year’s plethora gay Halloween costumes.
—
Abby Monteil,
Them.,
31 Oct. 2025
After a scramble from Baltimore’s corner kick, Kerr’s header at the back post wormed through a thicket of defenders, and Cuthbert had the final touch.
—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
This story has wormed its way into all levels of British cultural output.
—
Will Collins,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Sep. 2025
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
16 May 2026
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum initially believed that the bug, which eluded detection and caused countless medical issues, wormed its way into her system while filming Bravo's The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip in Morocco in early 2023.
—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Feb. 2026
We as a community contain (often brain-wormed) multitudes, as evidenced by this year’s plethora gay Halloween costumes.
—
Abby Monteil,
Them.,
31 Oct. 2025
After a scramble from Baltimore’s corner kick, Kerr’s header at the back post wormed through a thicket of defenders, and Cuthbert had the final touch.
—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
This story has wormed its way into all levels of British cultural output.
—
Will Collins,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wormed
Verb
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Kenya has experienced incidents of land grabbing in the past, and environmentalists have often spoken out when parks and other green spaces are encroached upon.
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Cuba has long defended its decision to shoot down the planes, insisting that Brothers to the Rescue had encroached on the country's sovereignty.
Verb
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Invasive plant species have infiltrated many of the natural grasslands, said DavidWedin, director of the University of Nebraska’s Center for Grassland Studies.
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The Institute for the Study of War has reported that, in the course of advancing towards Kostyantynivka, Russian forces infiltrated the southeastern portion of the city and its suburbs, pushing 2 to 4 kilometers ahead of their assessed lines.
Verb
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Daily drops of 5% and 4% were followed by a 16% slump as jitters crept into the market.
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On this Hornets team, which crept close to the playoffs last season but still didn’t make it for the 10th year in a row, these two first-round picks aren’t going to start right away unless someone gets hurt.
Verb
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Nixon then inserted himself into an obstruction of justice case by talking with an aide about blocking the FBI investigation, which eventually led to an impeachment inquiry by the House of Representatives and his eventual resignation.
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Right now, Bright Uro is commercializing Glean, a miniature device that can be inserted non-surgically into the bladder and record data.
Verb
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Chelsea Green crawled from under the ring and evened the odds.
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The animal eventually crawled under a dock.
Verb
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The survey doesn’t explain why satisfaction has slipped since then, but a 73 is well below the fast food average of 79.
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Salih Ozcan kicked a long cross to Can Uzun got the ball in space on the back post slipped it under sprawling goalkeeper Matt Turner to Ayhan.
Verb
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Extension cords snaked down the sidewalk to power laptops.
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McKennie got on the ball in midfield and sprayed the ball out to Pulisic, who snaked through two Paraguayan defenders, then squared the ball back to his teammate and friend.
Verb
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After Tyler Soderstrom drew a walk, the A’s Jonah Heim snuck an opposite-field single past the outstretched dive of third baseman Matt Chapman.
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Julia snuck some matchstick carrots into the potato mixture, then blew my socks off with a punchy, springy topping of feta, mint, dill, and chives.
Cite this Entry
“Wormed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wormed. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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