wriggled

Definition of wrigglednext
past tense of wriggle
1
2
as in crawled
to move slowly with the body close to the ground a worm slowly wriggled across the sidewalk

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

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.
Recent Examples of wriggled In the soil in his palm, an earthworm wriggled. Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 26 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wriggled
Verb
  • The open section of their session lasted for 15 minutes — and Howe will have squirmed through every second — but there were laughs amid the stretches and shuttle runs.
    George Caulkin, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • During rush hour, drivers crawled along at an average speed of just under 19 miles per hour.
    Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 23 Jan. 2026
  • But that was well over a year ago, and the procurement process has crawled ever since.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Elements of punk, adolescence, and glam-rock all infiltrated the runway.
    Brett F. Braley-Palko, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Unlike traditional sabotage, these hackers infiltrated networks to remain dormant and undetected, gaining the ability to disrupt the United States’ communications and power systems during a future crisis.
    Saman Zonouz, The Conversation, 22 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • The bonito’s body twitched until Yamasaki slid a thin metal wire down the column of its spinal cord, a second step called shinkei jime, which arrests its nervous system.
    Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
  • Their usefulness remains an open question At the back of a conference hall at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, a humanoid robot twitched through a preprogrammed wave for a crowd of cell phone cameras—a classic scene of high spectacle and unclear utility at CES.
    Eric Sullivan, Scientific American, 6 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • However, dynamic pricing has quietly crept into far more areas of our daily lives than ticketing.
    David Carlucci, New York Daily News, 21 Jan. 2026
  • Even searches for ethnic slurs hurled at Danish people — language that has historically crept into the American lexicon to dehumanize wartime enemies — come up thin.
    John C. Moritz, Austin American Statesman, 18 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Kate Hudson sneaked into the Best Actress category for Song Sung Blue, an inspirational true-story musical drama; the One Battle After Another ingénue, Chase Infiniti, meanwhile, was locked out.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Denver more than doubled its lead with an 8-0 run in a spectacular last 35 seconds of the half, started by a highlight alley-oop from Murray to Aaron Gordon, who snuck behind the defense along the baseline.
    Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Children fidgeted in the relentless August heat.
    Jacqui Gifford, Travel + Leisure, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The clear message from state leaders to residents was stay home and don't drive, but already dozens of drivers have slid off the roads.
    Kerry Breen, CBS News, 24 Jan. 2026
  • Seven minutes later, the first firetruck slid to a stop as firefighters took in the impossible scene in front of them.
    Nichole Manna, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Wriggled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wriggled. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.

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