wriggle

1
as in to squirm
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
as in to crawl
to move slowly with the body close to the ground a worm slowly wriggled across the sidewalk

Synonyms & Similar Words

3
as in to worm
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

Examples of wriggle in a Sentence

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Recent Examples on the Web After more than six minutes, Penny wriggled out from under Neely. Victoria Bekiempis, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2024 And, of course, finding anything wriggling around in your box of cereal or cornmeal is definitely upsetting. Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 23 Sep. 2024 At his best, there is a Luis Suarez-like quality to the way Diaz wriggles through opposition defences, somehow keeping the ball at his feet. Graham Ruthven, Forbes, 25 Sep. 2024 The show’s biggest fireworks may have been those coming from the studio, a lively five-person wriggle, resembling a watch party. Patrick Frater, Variety, 20 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for wriggle 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wriggle
Verb
  • Seated at a table, each tribe was presented with a bowl of live, squirming grubs in dirt.
    Emily Nussbaum, Vulture, 5 July 2024
  • Bacteria and other small creatures squirming inside bodies often have to propel themselves through thick, viscous environments.
    Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 9 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • Access is easy without the need for ladders (rooftop tents) or crawling (traditional ground tents).
    Fergus Scholes, theweek, 6 Nov. 2024
  • Here's why At one point he’s basically indentured to almost comically evil thieves, who force him to crawl through small spaces in the rubble to steal for them.
    Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Keep your pet’s vaccines and worming medications up-to-date since they can be exposed to rabies, canine distemper and other parasites from raccoons and their waste.
    Arricca Elin SanSone, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2024
  • By seizing on real concerns about disaster recovery, Russia’s disinformation agencies can worm their way into U.S. discourse, using hot-button issues to undermine Americans’ trust in their government and each other.
    David Klepper, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • Fans especially loved when Samantha would wrinkle her nose and twitch, activating her magic.
    Angela Andaloro, People.com, 22 Oct. 2024
  • Signs that your pup is in their REM phase of sleep include paw twitching, change in breathing, eye flickering, whimpering, barking, body twitching, and tail swishing.
    Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Asian Americans saw their unemployment rate creep lower to 3.9% from 4.1%.
    Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2024
  • Since then, online recommendations have crept ever further into the media ecosystem.
    Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • Imagine shutting every door and window, yet an intrusive guest still sneaks into your home.
    David Stempel, The Mercury News, 9 Nov. 2024
  • If 10 hours on stand are too much, sleep in, sneak to your spot at 9 a.m., and hunt out the rest of the day.
    Michael Hanback, Outdoor Life, 7 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • The decision reversed a lower court that said tossing those ballots interfered with the right to vote.
    Brian Bennett, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Nacua and Dodson scuffled after the whistle and the otherwise mild-mannered receiver was tossed for taking a swing.
    Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Although Ukraine's international backers have donated their own drones and many types of weapons to the war effort, experts say the vast majority of these are ill-suited to the constantly evolving front lines snaking through eastern Ukraine and along the border with Russia.
    David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2024
  • The hotel has a celestial Mediterranean theme, special kids' suites decorated with a How To Train Your Dragon theme, and a pool that snakes around the property.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 21 Oct. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near wriggle

Cite this Entry

“Wriggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wriggle. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on wriggle

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!