1
as in squirmed
to make jerky or restless movements
a toddler wriggling in his seat all throughout the church service
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
-
His Japanese guest, usually a paragon of diplomatic cool, visibly squirmed.—
Andreas Kluth,
Twin Cities,
14 Apr. 2026
-
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
Verb
-
Margot, who works for a social-media platform called Kino and shares a New Orleans apartment with her bestie, Ryan (Aaron Holliday), has only just crawled out of a dark period and doesn’t require much to teeter back in.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
-
As a toddler, Gabriela crawled about the UCLA clubhouse at reunions.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
It's been four years since Christine Marie and Tolga Katas infiltrated Samuel Bateman's polygamist sect while working on a documentary — a daring move that would eventually lead to his conviction.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Handala recently infiltrated a US medical equipment provider called Stryker, wiping thousands of IT systems and employee devices.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
7 Apr. 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
-
As the '80s gave way to the '90s and, later, the new millennium crept in, all-male singing groups became a defining part of pop culture.—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
15 Apr. 2026
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Even so, a little magic has crept into the proceedings, with some brands concealing their cleverness in plain sight and others putting more of the horological art on display.—
Oren Hartov,
Robb Report,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Boston successfully killed a Frost power play shortly thereafter — Aerin Frankel made a timely kick save on a cross-crease feed to Lee Stecklein — but Minnesota cashed in even strength to cut Boston’s lead to 2-1 when Kendall Cooper’s shot from the blue line snuck past Frankel.—
Jason Cooke,
Boston Herald,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Prosecutors said Serafini had snuck into the Lake Tahoe home while the married couple was out on the lake.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
15 Apr. 2026
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
Verb
-
When Holloway pulled the puck back to his forehand to finish into the empty net, he was robbed by Morrissey, who had slid desperately to his left like a street hockey goalie to make a shocking stick save.—
Murat Ates,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2026
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In just seconds, those pesky signs of aging were nearly invisible, and my makeup slid over them instead of sinking in.—
Cathy Nelson,
InStyle,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wriggled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wriggled. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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