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
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
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
-
Belloumi’s 64th-minute strike with his left foot broke the deadlock in the second game of the two-leg affair and Gelhardt made sure with a low shot that squirmed past the Millwall goalkeeper.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 May 2026
-
His Japanese guest, usually a paragon of diplomatic cool, visibly squirmed.—
Andreas Kluth,
Twin Cities,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In another, the same material crawled like a biological organism, mimicking natural motion.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Aug. 2025
-
Five roaches breathed their last on the kitchen floor where two roaches crawled away.—
David J. Neal
August 1,
Miami Herald,
1 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Property worth millions of dollars was destroyed in a series of protests that the government said were infiltrated by criminals.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 June 2026
-
Over 30 actors, filmmakers, and friends recount how Steven Spielberg infiltrated Hollywood and let the Movie Brats take over.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
Pebbles twitched, branches waggled, cholla wiggled, weeds erupted then dried up and died.—
Alina Hartounian,
NPR,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Kearse twitched briefly after the lethal drugs began entering his system but stopped moving several minutes later.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
That's one reason the idea of debt settlement has crept back into the conversation, particularly for people whose financial situations have taken a sharp turn.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
10 Dec. 2025
-
This narrative has previously crept into remarks by US Cabinet officials.—
CNN Staff,
CNN Money,
10 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado snuck out of the country and travelled to Oslo to celebrate her recent Nobel Peace Prize win, defying an arrest warrant by Caracas, which has pursued her for years.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
11 Dec. 2025
-
Wilson and Aces point guard Chelsea Gray sneaked into an empty room after the game and cried in each other’s arms.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
10 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
One woman ordered some home furniture while two children fidgeted nearby.—
David Lyons,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Additional research into the mind-smell connection found that scent-wearers fidgeted less.—
Annie Blay-Tettey,
Allure,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Last month, Simone also slid a photo of her and Dumas into a holiday Instagram post, which showed the two of them attending a University of Virginia football game together.—
Sean Neumann,
PEOPLE,
9 Dec. 2025
-
Toward clinical use Early surgical evaluations show the device can be inserted through a minimally invasive skull incision and slid onto the brain’s surface without penetrating tissue or requiring wires that tether the implant to bone.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wriggled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wriggled. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
