wriggly

adjective

Definition of wrigglynext
as in wiggly
making jerky or restless movements after a while, the little girl got wriggly and had to be taken outside to the church vestibule

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 wriggly Both players are wriggly, elusive dribblers. — Luke Bosher, New York Times, 25 June 2026 Medieval Christians looked at the very same phenomenon and imagined it as a reflection of divine will, the transformation of a wriggly worm into a flying jewel an earthly reminder of the transfiguration of Jesus to Christ. — Literary Hub, 24 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wriggly
  1. wiggly
  2. squirmy
  3. fidgety
  4. twitchy
  5. upset
  6. worried
Adjective
  • Teaching first grade has always involved dealing with wiggly and talkative kids.
    — Stacker, Hartford Courant, 9 May 2026
  • At the edges of the channel, near the walls, Rout and Lim’s team saw rapid fluctuations of molecules — those were the wiggly nucleoporins.
    — Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 9 Mar. 2026
Definition of wiggly
Adjective
  • Simply set out bowls of coffee grounds among your outdoor seating areas to prevent ants, mosquitoes, fruit flies, and squirmy critters from crashing your barbecue.
    — Joey Skladany, Southern Living, 17 June 2026
  • Fjord is a squirmy drama in which Stan and Renate Reinsve play a married couple who move with their five children from Romania to Norway to be closer to Reinsve’s mother, only to draw the interest of child protective services when a teacher at school spots bruises on one of the kids.
    — Rachel Handler, Vulture, 26 May 2026
Definition of squirmy
Adjective
  • Even Jason notices the guests are fidgety.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 24 Feb. 2026
  • The two go toe-to-toe in power and precision, but the Breville’s intuitive assembly is a massive improvement on the Cuisinart’s notoriously fidgety and fussy locking mechanisms.
    — Noah Kaufman, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 Oct. 2025
Definition of fidgety
Adjective
  • Atlanta artist Truett Dietz’s twitchy, colorful, anxiety-laden drawings at Wolfgang Gallery are visions of our brains on internet.
    — Felicia Feaster, AJC.com, 13 June 2026
  • But the potential for a face-plant remains, especially given the large percentage of shares that will be doled out to retail investors who are, by and large, big Musk fans but also tend to be twitchy.
    — Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 11 June 2026
Definition of twitchy
Adjective
  • Play was held up after some upset fans threw things onto the field after the controversial offside call.
    — Ashley Mowreader, NBC news, 3 July 2026
  • Usually, when the USMNT enters the knockout stage in the World Cup, they’re considered the underdogs, hoping to be scrappy to force an upset.
    — Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of upset
Adjective
  • The city is recommending zoning regulations that fall in line with state statute while trying to calm residents who are worried data centers will overwhelm resources like water and energy and impose on their quality of life.
    — Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 2 July 2026
  • Hollywood insider Rob Shuter is reporting that guests to the wedding are worried about the itinerary and the scale of the celebration.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 2 July 2026
Definition of worried

Browse Nearby Words

wriggling
wriggly
wright
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wriggly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wriggly. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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