as in writhing
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1
as in squirming
to make jerky or restless movements
a toddler wriggling in his seat all throughout the church service
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in infiltrating
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
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Recent Examples of wriggling
Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Anybody who has watched children fight knows that weeping will start only after the victim has given up struggling and wriggling and accepted defeat.
—Big Think, 23 Sep. 2025
According to Bed Bug Biology and Behavior, the bed bugs wriggling under hotel sheets the world over right now descend from cave-dwelling insects that originally drank bat blood.
—Katie Nixon, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Sep. 2025
Edible insects in the form of wriggling maggots or hairy caterpillars are both delicacy and staple in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a central African nation of nearly 120 million people.
—Emmet Livingstone, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025
Small wonder that although the statue is expressive of Jordan’s signature, physically sprawling move, one leg is as stiff as a pharaoh’s, his feet are weirdly flat, his jersey is pooched as if a possum were wriggling inside it.
—Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 30 Aug. 2025
And, of course, finding anything wriggling around in your box of cereal or cornmeal is definitely upsetting.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 19 Aug. 2025
On an island in the middle of the Florida Everglades, Taylor Stanberry — mostly nocturnal in the summer catching Burmese pythons — uncovered a wriggling nest of 30 baby pythons.
—Miami Herald, 15 Aug. 2025
Elanga looked very decent against Atletico, wriggling down the right with blistering pace.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 10 Aug. 2025
Verb
The camera then switches from the chaos of the puppy, to the kitten—who is sitting in a relaxed position, blinking slowly, and staring almost disdainfully at the wriggling puppy.
—Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Anybody who has watched children fight knows that weeping will start only after the victim has given up struggling and wriggling and accepted defeat.
—Big Think, 23 Sep. 2025
According to Bed Bug Biology and Behavior, the bed bugs wriggling under hotel sheets the world over right now descend from cave-dwelling insects that originally drank bat blood.
—Katie Nixon, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Sep. 2025
Edible insects in the form of wriggling maggots or hairy caterpillars are both delicacy and staple in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a central African nation of nearly 120 million people.
—Emmet Livingstone, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025
Small wonder that although the statue is expressive of Jordan’s signature, physically sprawling move, one leg is as stiff as a pharaoh’s, his feet are weirdly flat, his jersey is pooched as if a possum were wriggling inside it.
—Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 30 Aug. 2025
And, of course, finding anything wriggling around in your box of cereal or cornmeal is definitely upsetting.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 19 Aug. 2025
On an island in the middle of the Florida Everglades, Taylor Stanberry — mostly nocturnal in the summer catching Burmese pythons — uncovered a wriggling nest of 30 baby pythons.
—Miami Herald, 15 Aug. 2025
Elanga looked very decent against Atletico, wriggling down the right with blistering pace.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 10 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wriggling
Noun
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Throughout the writhing and the screaming, Julia’s fortitude wears down a defiant Davina, whose history with Lovat feeds the moment.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
An annual tradition in the legal circle, as well as his UCLA symposium sit-downs, the hourlong speech from the predominantly softspoken Ziffren clearly had a few attendees squirming in their seats near the end.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
30 Oct. 2025
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Hungry birds looking for dozens of squirming caterpillars a day to feed their young can easily find the insects on oak trees.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
His fur was singed and bitten, his arm broken, and his mouth crawling with maggots.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
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Amazon has already taken steps in recent months to prevent external AI agents from crawling its website, including those developed by OpenAI, Google and Meta.—
Ashley Capoot,Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Tea is approached by PET and tasked with infiltrating the criminal empire of Miran, a ruthless criminal posing as a businessman.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Billitier did have a hell of a story to tell about his decades of undercover work for the FBI, including several years infiltrating a Colombian drug ring in Texas.—
Steve Belanger,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Patients first experience twitching or weakness in a limb, often followed by slurred speech.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Applause intermingled with tears as the families of the Camp Mystic campers and counselors looked on, many with small children fidgeting in their Sunday-best attire behind the governor.—
Rebekah Riess,
CNN Money,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Domestically, the president is also navigating creeping inflation that is threatening his party’s prospects in the midterm elections, with Democrats staking their return to power on fears of an affordability crisis.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
31 Oct. 2025
-
But with Neo stepping into the household and taking on labor like housekeeping, job-seekers may have to compete with AI innovations creeping into the blue-collar world.—
Jessica Coacci,
Fortune,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Berens brings his particular brand of Midwest nice to his latest hour (watch the trailer above), full of stories about growing up one of 12 children, sneaking a beer into church, gambling with his grandmother, and Midwest Cheap Hacks.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
3 Nov. 2025
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In this song, the kids catch Mom and Dad sneaking snacks in the kitchen after bedtime.—
Elisabeth Sherman,
Parents,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wriggling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wriggling. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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