1
as in to squirm
to make jerky or restless movements
a toddler wriggling in his seat all throughout the church service
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wriggle
On Freud’s other side is the young Behrens, who appears to be wriggling uncomfortably in his chair while holding on to a glass of wine.
—
Karl Ove Knausgaard, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Watch Grande glide through as Glinda; behold Gomez wriggling under privilege.
—Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Jan. 2025
And then in the 90th minute, Alvarez beautifully wriggled past keeper Matej Kovar to score a memorable winner.
—Tim Spiers, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
The ink shifted and wriggled again, forming new words from the old: NO OBSERVERS.
—EW.com, 14 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wriggle
Karl Ove Knausgaard, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Watch Grande glide through as Glinda; behold Gomez wriggling under privilege.
—Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Jan. 2025
And then in the 90th minute, Alvarez beautifully wriggled past keeper Matej Kovar to score a memorable winner.
—Tim Spiers, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
The ink shifted and wriggled again, forming new words from the old: NO OBSERVERS.
—EW.com, 14 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wriggle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wriggle
Verb
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Trump: Ukraine should turn to Europe for security USDA chief pitches egg prices plan The Cabinet and Congress, at least for the time being, squirm in Elon Musk’s shadow.—
Alexis Simendinger,
The Hill,
27 Feb. 2025
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The production seems to have been given zero access to these bachelor’s dates or online interactions; instead, they are recounted as unsurprising post-game chastise sessions, with Hao reiterating his principles while the other men nod along or squirm a bit.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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In 1504, Christopher Columbus, on his fourth trans-Atlantic voyage, was stranded on the shores of Jamaica, with his ships crawling with marine worms and his crew hungry.—
Jamie Carter,
Space.com,
10 Mar. 2025
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If no shelter is available, crawl to an interior wall away from windows.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacramento Bee,
9 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The plot might seem repetitive, going back and forth between Violet trying to follow the anonymous rules and worming her way out of them to seek help (only to be outsmarted), but the movie’s exciting, stage-like formal flourishes and its disorienting lensing keep things moving smoothly.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
10 Mar. 2025
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Chain Reactions Director: Alexandre O. Philippe Featuring: Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Stephen King, Karyn Kusama United States, 2024 For fifty years, Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has terrified audiences by worming its way into their subconscious.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
6 Mar. 2025
Verb
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In the footage, the faceless android is seen suspended from the ceiling, its limbs twitching and moving in an unsettlingly human-like manner.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
Fox News,
11 Mar. 2025
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Something similar happened to Lindon’s recreation of a Picasso painting: His hand twitched, tearing the work to pieces.—
Sonja Anderson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Prices have crept upwards, a strategy also reflected in its sister brands COS and Arket who are edging towards what can only be described as ‘mid-tier luxury’ high street - no longer shy about four-figure price tags on coats.—
Zoe Bayliss Wong,
Forbes,
18 Mar. 2025
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After 1850, carbon dioxide levels crept up slowly at first and then rapidly accelerated.—
Paul Bierman,
The Conversation,
17 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Among the messages from Kori found by police were texts that called the girl beautiful, asked her to sneak out and come visit him.—
John Lynch,
arkansasonline.com,
18 Mar. 2025
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North Carolina snuck into the men’s draw as the final team chosen, a notable decision given that a) UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham is chair of the selection committee, and b) Cunningham earned a $68,000 bonus for the Tar Heels’ selection.—
Scott Soshnick,
Sportico.com,
18 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Warren, 25, has tossed 11 2/3 innings this spring training, and he's looked excellent each time out.—
Faisal Kutty,
Newsweek,
12 Mar. 2025
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The characters are near strangers, tossed together by weird and annoying circumstances.—
Angie Han,
The Hollywood Reporter,
12 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Some 11,000 of them live in the small towns and enclaves linked by two-lane highways and narrow gravel roads snaking through the forest.—
Frank Morris,
NPR,
18 Mar. 2025
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With its warm wood planking, plentiful resting areas, and plantings of long, waving grasses, the park, no matter how crowded, feels like a calm canyon snaking through crumbling tenements and monumental skyscrapers, offering occasional glimpses of the Hudson River beyond.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
13 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wriggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wriggle. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.
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