1
as in encroaching
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits
neighborhoods worming into lands reserved for wildlife
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in sneaking
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 creeping
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
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Recent Examples of worming
In terms of the complex set design — which looks like a facsimile of the same passage over and over but with subtle differences worming their way in — Kawamura and his team built two identical corridors for cinematographer Keisuke Imamura to follow the actors through, third- and first-person-style.
—
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 15 Apr. 2026
Clara ends up moving to the small town and worming her way into everyone’s hearts.
—Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025
Traitors is worming its way in there.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 15 Apr. 2026
Clara ends up moving to the small town and worming her way into everyone’s hearts.
—Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025
Traitors is worming its way in there.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for worming
Verb
-
Your neighbors may not want to deal with its thorny leaves encroaching on their yard.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
30 Apr. 2026
-
An encroaching fog is disrupting the ferry schedule.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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After being expelled from Brown University for sneaking a coed into his room, Turner came to Atlanta to work as an account executive for his domineering father’s billboard company, Turner Advertising.—
David Bauder,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2026
-
In the video, the woman is seen lifting the bottle of cognac, which retails for $4,000, and sneaking it into a purse.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
Audiences have championed the films for their creeping realism and slow-building scares that made ordinary bedrooms, hallways and home security cameras feel terrifying.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
12 May 2026
-
This low-mounding shade perennial sends up taller, slender stems with airy flower clusters, and the groundcover spreads by slowly creeping rhizomes.—
Judy Nauseef,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 May 2026
Verb
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Expect launch photos, snaps of historic hardware destined for space, images of the night sky and, from time to time, photographic evidence of our entertainment editor Ian Stokes infiltrating Amazon's London office to sneak a peek at their May the 4th Star Wars offering … allegedly.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
2 May 2026
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In The Second Lady, when America’s beloved First Lady is abducted and replaced by a Russian double, both women must fight to survive—one navigating captivity in Siberia, the other infiltrating the White House to sabotage NATO during the G7 Summit.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Ahmed Moustafa, who operates a halal cart near Yankee Stadium, is still crawling out from the pandemic.—
Yuna Kim,
New York Daily News,
6 May 2026
-
Detroit then went to Orlando and extended its hopes yet again — crawling out of a 24-point hole through a historic clampdown.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
5 May 2026
Verb
-
Spectrum is inserting a brief message between two runs of the same commercial.—
Ticked Off,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 May 2026
-
The Marvel mastermind cemented his place in entertainment history, not just by bringing the superhero stories to life across different media, but by inserting himself in that history.—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
Budget-conscious passengers, many of them young, formed a seemingly endless security line snaking around the rotunda, which features a twelve-foot-high mural depicting the history of flight.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
11 May 2026
-
Maggie and John joined the unusually eager attendees and stood at the end of a long, snaking line that brought them to the edge of Tenth Avenue.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
Masks are slipping and illusions are fading.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
6 May 2026
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Sargent's work originally featured a strap slipping off the model's shoulder.—
Dalila Muata,
NBC news,
5 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Worming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worming. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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