to wriggle
28
3.7
- verb
- /ˈrɪɡəl/
:
removerse
- When the kids play on the grass, they often wriggle and squirm like little worms.
- wriggle free
I mean, there there is a real genuine pleasure in in watching them wriggle.
- I mean, there there is a real genuine pleasure in in watching them wriggle.
- Yes, I know that by wriggling around, but just by the way, you just your high frequency, yes, I'm ADHD too.
- And remember, narcissistic friendships can be very difficult to wriggle out of, especially because of things like guilt and pity.
Examples
-
All right, just hang out there, wriggle a sec.
-
On elbows and knees, he'd wriggled into another world, cool, dark, damp, and seductive.
Fiction book (1993) -
And, do any of them wriggle out of the net?
-
Just wriggle your shoulders like this and then let go.
-
"Just be very quiet, imp, and we may wriggle out of this yet.
Fiction book (1991) -
It's all right, don't buck and wriggle so.
-
Before PK can say anything else, Doc has wriggled through the small opening.
Fiction book (1992) -
Pappas is packed in, upside down, wriggling to get out through the side window.
Fiction book (1991) -
After he left, Adina pulled off her shoes and wriggled her toes with relief.
Fiction book (1990) -
He kind of wriggles his way inside my head, and then he wriggles his way out.
Synonyms
89
1.0
To move with small, quick movements from side to side or up and down
68
3.9
To make small twisting movements of your body because you feel uncomfortable
3
4.6
To move by twisting and wriggling to get through a small space
Antonyms
How Vigorous
Surface Forms
Morphology
wriggle = wrigg + le
The suffix '-le' signals iterative/small repeated movement, which helps indicate the meaning, but the root 'wrigg-' is not a standalone modern English word and so is not fully transparent to learners.
Etymology
Wriggle comes from the old root wrig- meaning 'to twist', and you can compare it to the common word wiggle. That's why to wriggle means to twist and turn with small, quick movements, often to get free.