wriggled

verb

past tense of wriggle
1
as in squirmed
to make jerky or restless movements a toddler wriggling in his seat all throughout the church service

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in crawled
to move slowly with the body close to the ground a worm slowly wriggled across the sidewalk

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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

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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 Countless individual tread blocks, divided by wide grooves, wriggled around instead of digging in. — Michael Harley, Forbes.com, 30 June 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 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
  1. squirmed
  2. crawled
  3. infiltrated
  4. twitched
  5. crept
  6. sneaked
  7. fidgeted
  8. slid
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
Definition of squirmed
Verb
  • Traffic crawled at a creep along Independence Boulevard in those days.
    — DJ Simmons, Charlotte Observer, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Seven hid under a kitchen chest freezer while five crawled on the wall next to the three-compartment sink.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawled
Verb
  • Prosecutors say Beirich, who previously led the SPLC's hate groups tracking section, was one among several individuals who oversaw payments to individuals who infiltrated white supremacist groups and acted as informants for SPLC.
    — Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • By the time smoke is visible, the finest particles, which are of greatest health concern, have often already infiltrated the building.
    — Sissi Liu, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of infiltrated
Verb
  • Many a club’s board would have twitched in the face of the bare data, but the chain of command above Arteta stayed the course, and the FOMO is so high that tickets for Palace away this weekend are going for £45,000 ($60,000) on resale sites.
    — Phil Hay, New York Times, 21 May 2026
  • My jaw twitched uncontrollably.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 May 2026
Definition of twitched
Verb
  • By halftime, baldness crept between the hashmarks, especially on Highmark Stadium’s south end (to the right if sitting behind the Bills bench).
    — Tim Graham, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • And into the abyss of checks and balances, entitlement crept in.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of crept
Verb
  • Trump reportedly snuck out of the plane and onto a catering truck that whisked him off to a smaller military jet for the return flight.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Here are a few of the more subtle hints, references and Easter eggs Disney Imagineers snuck into the showcase of what’s next at Disneyland and Disney World.
    — Mackenzie Schmidt, PEOPLE, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of sneaked
Verb
  • One woman ordered some home furniture while two children fidgeted nearby.
    — David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026
  • 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
Definition of fidgeted
Verb
  • Streams of cool kids dressed in all-black tank tops, slip dresses and leather pants crammed into the old town, sipping cocktails as DJs slid faders.
    — Kyle MacNeill, Vogue, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Cisco Systems — Shares slid 2% after HSBC cut its rating on the networking equipment maker and cut its price target to $120 from $137.
    — Fred Imbert, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of slid

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Cite this Entry

“Wriggled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wriggled. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on wriggled

Nglish: Translation of wriggled for Spanish Speakers

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