1
as in squirmed
to make jerky or restless movements
a toddler wriggling in his seat all throughout the church service
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in infiltrated
to introduce in a gradual, secret, or clever way
within a month of his arrival, this social upstart had wriggled himself into the family's good graces
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wriggled
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
Play was recycled and Harrison Armstrong ended up firing a good chance too close to goalkeeper Senne Lammens after Iliman Ndiaye had wriggled free down the right.
—Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Emma wriggled obediently out of the offending articles.
—Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026
In the soil in his palm, an earthworm wriggled.
—Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 26 Dec. 2025
Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 17 Mar. 2026
Play was recycled and Harrison Armstrong ended up firing a good chance too close to goalkeeper Senne Lammens after Iliman Ndiaye had wriggled free down the right.
—Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Emma wriggled obediently out of the offending articles.
—Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026
In the soil in his palm, an earthworm wriggled.
—Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 26 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wriggled
Verb
-
Substitute Nikolas Nartey completed the scoring in stoppage time with another deflected shot that squirmed in off the far post.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Carl squirmed away from some of his earlier remarks minimizing the Holocaust but stood by his views on anti-white persecution and the Great Replacement.—
Andreas Kluth,
Mercury News,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Woods was alone in the car and crawled out of the passenger door after the crash.—
Ryan Morik , Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The mood inside the terminal was calm as the snaking line crawled forward.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Afternoon and early-evening sessions, once thought safe, were infiltrated by those stashing weapons.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
19 Mar. 2026
-
But with the March 17 primary just days away, fresh faces are vying to replace experienced lawmakers and outside campaign cash has infiltrated a string of races for the Illinois House and Senate.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Kearse twitched briefly after the lethal drugs began entering his system but stopped moving several minutes later.—
Freida Frisaro,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Through the scope, a polar bear twitched on the ice, 25 yards in front of me.—
Scott Haugen,
Outdoor Life,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Controversies like those surrounding Gilgan’s column inspired several AI researchers to go back and see how much AI material has crept into American newspapers.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
26 Mar. 2026
-
West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark for domestic oil prices, has remained at or below $100 per barrel for nearly two weeks, while Brent Crude, the benchmark for international oil prices, has crept back up toward $110.—
Tiana Lowe Doescher,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The prosecutor said Serafini snuck into his in-laws’ Homewood residence on the west shore of Lake Tahoe while nobody was home.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
17 Mar. 2026
-
My brother Mike knew a maintenance engineer who snuck me in to Seals & Crofts’ studio.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Between each dance was an excruciating silence during which network-TV producers monitored and reset their equipment while the men fidgeted onstage like excitable children.—
Rebecca Jennings,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Children fidgeted in the relentless August heat.—
Jacqui Gifford,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Two travelers were injured when tons of rock slid onto a winding road inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park, according to the National Park Service.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
29 Mar. 2026
-
In the months since, Tappin has been busy purchasing bitcoin during the dip, even as bitcoin’s price slid into the 60s.—
Bracey Harris,
NBC news,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wriggled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wriggled. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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