1
as in squirmed
to make jerky or restless movements
a toddler wriggling in his seat all throughout the church service
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in infiltrated
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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of wriggled
Venezuelan fans — who made the long trip to loanDepot Park for the 2026 World Baseball Classic — wriggled with every pitch.
—
Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 17 Mar. 2026
Play was recycled and Harrison Armstrong ended up firing a good chance too close to goalkeeper Senne Lammens after Iliman Ndiaye had wriggled free down the right.
—Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Emma wriggled obediently out of the offending articles.
—Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026
In the soil in his palm, an earthworm wriggled.
—Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 26 Dec. 2025
Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 17 Mar. 2026
Play was recycled and Harrison Armstrong ended up firing a good chance too close to goalkeeper Senne Lammens after Iliman Ndiaye had wriggled free down the right.
—Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Emma wriggled obediently out of the offending articles.
—Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026
In the soil in his palm, an earthworm wriggled.
—Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 26 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wriggled
Verb
-
Substitute Nikolas Nartey completed the scoring in stoppage time with another deflected shot that squirmed in off the far post.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Carl squirmed away from some of his earlier remarks minimizing the Holocaust but stood by his views on anti-white persecution and the Great Replacement.—
Andreas Kluth,
Mercury News,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Woods was alone in the car and crawled out of the passenger door after the crash.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The man who crawled out of that chest would shape how nations justify power for centuries to come.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
In 2024 Israeli operatives infiltrated Hezbollah’s supply chain and used shell companies to sell members pagers and walkie-talkies rigged with explosives.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Chavez and his aides repeatedly claimed that their critics are Communist or grower sympathizers who infiltrated the UFW before turning on it.—
Marcos Breton,
Sacbee.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Kearse twitched briefly after the lethal drugs began entering his system but stopped moving several minutes later.—
Freida Frisaro,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Through the scope, a polar bear twitched on the ice, 25 yards in front of me.—
Scott Haugen,
Outdoor Life,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Over recent decades, the average retirement age has crept steadily up.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Less than a month after Mark Zuckerberg made a fashion week cameo on Prada’s front row in Milan, Meta has crept back into the fashion conversation.—
Amy O’Brien,
Vogue,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
This era of college basketball — the NIL and portal combination — has either robbed Self of his greatest strength or at least sneaked a few pennies from the community tray.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Long Beach and Bakersfield snuck in to the top 20 with Sacramento, taking the 16th and 17th spots respectively.—
Jason Pierce,
Sacbee.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
One woman ordered some home furniture while two children fidgeted nearby.—
David Lyons,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Between each dance was an excruciating silence during which network-TV producers monitored and reset their equipment while the men fidgeted onstage like excitable children.—
Rebecca Jennings,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Grisham slid home just ahead of left fielder Heriberto Hernandez’s throw.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
-
As preparations were ongoing for the game, ice slid off the stadium and struck six workers.—
Nick Harris
April 3,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wriggled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wriggled. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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