1
as in to squirm
to make jerky or restless movements
a toddler wriggling in his seat all throughout the church service
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wriggle
Around them, a dozen children sunk into their parents’ laps — giggling, wriggling and delighted by the story.
—
Jessica Ma, Dallas Morning News, 27 Mar. 2026
Rolling off the bed in a silicon sleep cocoon, Grace gradually evolves from a wriggling larval stage into a fully upright, walking and talking smarty-pants.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
Venezuelan fans — who made the long trip to loanDepot Park for the 2026 World Baseball Classic — wriggled with every pitch.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 17 Mar. 2026
Emma wriggled obediently out of the offending articles.
—Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wriggle
Jessica Ma, Dallas Morning News, 27 Mar. 2026
Rolling off the bed in a silicon sleep cocoon, Grace gradually evolves from a wriggling larval stage into a fully upright, walking and talking smarty-pants.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
Venezuelan fans — who made the long trip to loanDepot Park for the 2026 World Baseball Classic — wriggled with every pitch.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 17 Mar. 2026
Emma wriggled obediently out of the offending articles.
—Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wriggle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wriggle
Verb
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For moist at least, a long history as a word associated with bodily discharge coupled with its more recent use as a sexualized word positioned it as one that makes young modern women squirm more than men.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Apr. 2026
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The veterans, of course, are terrific with one later episode set on a plane that finds Mulligan in top squirming form.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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After losing her friend Yo, Anna spends a decade obsessively building a detailed one-third-scale replica of her house — just large enough to crawl inside — where a puppet version of Yo still lives.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
6 May 2026
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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
Verb
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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
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MomTok got Taylor on the plane and off to star in The Bachelorette, but not before Dakota worms his way in one last time.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Pebbles twitched, branches waggled, cholla wiggled, weeds erupted then dried up and died.—
Alina Hartounian,
NPR,
20 Apr. 2026
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The launch can also be viewed on NASA's social media platforms include Facebook, twitch and X as well as NASA+, the agency's streaming service.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Win it, and suddenly the series tightens, the doubt creeps in and the path gets a lot more complicated for Orlando.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
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For another easy-to-care-for choice that relishes sunlight, look to creeping juniper and its beautifully hazy blue-green leaves.—
Melissa Epifano,
The Spruce,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Other methods of sneaking contraband into a prison include throwing it over a facility’s fence, coordinating through the mail and, in some cases, involving corrupt corrections officers.—
Taylor Galgano,
CNN Money,
3 May 2026
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Much like his Game 1 game-winning goal, Mattias Samuelsson used a screen from the towering Thompson to sneak a long-range shot past Jeremy Swayman on the short side.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
2 May 2026
Verb
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Fittingly, Madden tossed the go-ahead touchdown pass from near the logo to a wide-open Kenneth Moore III, putting his blue team up 24-17, the eventual final score.—
Sean Campbell,
Los Angeles Times,
3 May 2026
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In the first case against Comey—the one that was tossed last year—DOJ managed to secure the indictment that Trump wanted by stretching the facts to conform to the law.—
Quinta Jurecic,
The Atlantic,
3 May 2026
Verb
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The barely-there gown featured a nude bodice with black lace and black gems snaking along the collar, down the center, along her sleeves and onto her hands.—
Sophie Dodd,
PEOPLE,
4 May 2026
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The dirt-only diamond was loamy and soft and home plate was totally submerged in a muddy puddle, a tributary of which also snaked down the third-base line.—
Chang-rae Lee,
New Yorker,
3 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wriggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wriggle. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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