1
as in squirming
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 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
as in writhing
Related Words
Dissimilar 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 wriggling
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
Noun
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
Verb
-
But as soon as my squirming newborn was placed on my chest, I was overcome by the desire not to keep these works to myself, but to share my love of literature with my baby.—
Ilana Kurshan,
The Atlantic,
24 Aug. 2025
-
With net in hand, the future microbial geochemist dredged up seaweed and mud squirming with snails, crab larvae and other small invertebrates.—
Laura Poppick,
Quanta Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The centipede the Redditor found crawling in her bed.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Aug. 2025
-
My death was supposed to be crawling up inside of the locker that the cat used to go in.—
Matthew Jacobs,
Vulture,
26 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The Taliban was and still is adept at infiltrating aid organizations and diverting aid to fill their coffers.—
Beth Bailey,
FOXNews.com,
1 Sep. 2025
-
OneTaste opened its doors in San Francisco in the early two-thousands, as wellness culture was infiltrating the mainstream.—
Thessaly La Force,
New Yorker,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
Koberidze opens with a montage of cats, foot traffic, street dogs twitching in their sleep, statues and trees casting long shadows across buildings.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
17 Aug. 2025
-
Prater, who was expecting gory details, is a little harder to read, though his face twitching doesn’t seem like a great sign.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The feelings of postpartum depression — despair, guilt, shame and worthlessness — began creeping in.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
-
With trigger-warning culture on the wane and a brutish permissiveness creeping back into society, corporate scolds have lost much of their power.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Parents sneaking in a third cup before school pickup.—
Lyssanoel Frater,
USA Today,
28 Aug. 2025
-
At the time, Simpson looked confused before dancing a jig and sneaking off the stage.—
Ilana Kaplan,
People.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Now scientists have found that, with a little fiddling, the feathers can be adjusted to turn flashes of light into laser beams.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
5 Aug. 2025
-
Life’s hard enough, and if facial fiddling is music to your ears, have at it.—
Valerie Monroe,
Allure,
21 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wriggling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wriggling. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share