as in fidgeting
to make jerky or restless movements
the toddler squirmed the whole time we were in the waiting room
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in writhing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of squirming
James Parker, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 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
In this case, the device was able to suck in part of the worm's tail and drag it out—still squirming.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 13 Aug. 2025
Noun
Still, Sabbath sounded amazing, the band’s distinctive vibe of limitless cosmic encumbrance, of Man squirming under the thumb of Fate, God, madness—the essential heavy-metal vision—somehow magnified by the venerable wobbliness of its playing.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 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
In this case, the device was able to suck in part of the worm's tail and drag it out—still squirming.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squirming
Verb
-
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
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
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Prior to the 2024 incident, Mangione reportedly shared information on Reddit about a number of health issues, including struggles with back pain, brain fog, and twitching leg muscles.—
Olivia-Anne Cleary,
Time,
16 Sep. 2025
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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
Verb
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During that span, Browning went 4-3 as the team’s starter while tossing 12 touchdowns to just seven interceptions.—
Kambui Bomani,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
After tossing a few MAGA hats to the crowd, Kirk sat down under the canopy to take questions.—
Rick Jervis,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Even the normally surefire element of a score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, with its blasts of dissonance pumping up the squirm factor, adds to the heavy-going effect of a movie that seems to go out of its way to be grating.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Aug. 2025
-
That kind of thing makes a checker squirm.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
One video posted to the social platform X appeared to show Kirk addressing the students, at one point speaking about gang violence, before being struck near the neck and later jerking to his left side.—
Caroline Vakil,
The Hill,
10 Sep. 2025
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The story follows a Jewish family across five generations, from childhood to adulthood, blending laughs and tear-jerking moments, just like in Bob-Waksberg’s other shows.—
Braedon Montgomery,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Noun
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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
Verb
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Zaya, stood at the back door, wiggling and barking with excitement to see her owner return home.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Aug. 2025
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To train the decoder, each person would imagine a series of different movements (like moving their whole right arm or wiggling their left thumb) while the researchers looked at the data coming from the electrodes and tried to find the most obvious and reliable signal.—
Eliza Strickland,
IEEE Spectrum,
21 Feb. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Squirming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squirming. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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