wriggles

verb

present tense third-person singular of wriggle
1
as in squirms
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 crawls
to move slowly with the body close to the ground a worm slowly wriggled across the sidewalk

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3
as in worms
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 wriggles Tuesday, March 3, is when the full Worm Moon wriggles its way into the night sky. — John Tufts, IndyStar, 24 Feb. 2026 That calls for a little extra creativity from its mom — and the movie’s narrator (Emilia Clarke) — who wriggles her mandibles and gets to work embellishing upon what Dahl imagined. — Peter Debruge, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wriggles
  1. squirms
  2. crawls
  3. worms
  4. tosses
  5. creeps
  6. infiltrates
  7. fidgets
  8. snakes
Verb
  • The 420 Sport jostles and squirms on these surfaces at low speeds, but the payoff is unfiltered, no-nonsense feedback.
    — Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 22 July 2026
  • When Brian and Murtagh report that Dougal offended the Grants and Colum had to promise Ellen’s hand to appease the situation, Lord Lovat squirms.
    — Lincee Ray Published, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Definition of squirms
Verb
  • Markets do not hold still for a year and a half while your deal crawls through due diligence.
    — Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
  • Footage of the moment shows Menitoff acting as if nothing is happening as the bug crawls on her.
    — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 16 July 2026
Definition of crawls
Verb
  • MomTok got Taylor on the plane and off to star in The Bachelorette, but not before Dakota worms his way in one last time.
    — Joe Reid, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Guiteau eventually worms his way into an audience, ostensibly seeking an ambassadorship for his dubious contributions to the campaign but, in reality, requesting a path to greatness.
    — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025
Definition of worms
Verb
  • The grandfather is seen running around a few trees, but the bison soon catches up and tosses the helpless visitor eight feet in the air.
    — Suzanne Yeo, ABC News, 13 July 2026
  • As part of the number, Grande tosses a sparkling pink ship’s wheel high into the air before catching it.
    — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026
Definition of tosses
Verb
  • Complexity slowly creeps in, via the boardroom, presentations, decisions, relationships and finally, the ability to serve the consumer and the very reason why the company exists in the first place.
    — Sonal Jain, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • As our conversation extends into the hour mark, her hood creeps upward along the side of her face most visible to those around us.
    — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 23 June 2026
Definition of creeps
Verb
  • When an outsider infiltrates the family, buried tensions surface and blood ties are severed.
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 24 July 2026
  • Yet up here hardly a sound infiltrates the noble trees that surround the estate.
    — Nielsen Dinwoodie, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
Definition of infiltrates
Verb
  • The man fidgets, shifts around in his seat and fixates on Zarutska before pulling out a small knife and striking her multiple times around her neck.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 8 Sep. 2025
Definition of fidgets
Verb
  • The New River, which snakes through West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina, may be one of the oldest river systems on earth.
    — Josh Laskin, Travel + Leisure, 3 July 2026
  • Morning mist coated the nearby Rhone River that snakes through the Alpine valley as worshippers flocked in.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 July 2026
Definition of snakes

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Cite this Entry

“Wriggles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wriggles. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on wriggles

Nglish: Translation of wriggles for Spanish Speakers

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