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twiddler

twiddler

8.5
A person who moves their fingers or small objects without thinking
  • noun
  • /ˈtwɪdlər/
translation icon : manipulador
  • As a twiddler, she often found herself absentmindedly playing with her hair.

Examples

  • Despite his nervousness, the twiddler managed to keep the conversation going.

  • She is a twiddler, a dreamer... a silly heart and she is a jabberbox.

  • Like whiffsy time-twiddlers.

  • He is such a twiddler, always fumbling with his pen during meetings.

Synonyms

fiddler
vstwiddler
4 6.9

A person who plays with small things when nervous or bored

has identical meaning but is an alternate form
wiggler
vstwiddler
  • Informal
1 7.0

A person, often a child, who cannot sit still and keeps moving

involves small hand manipulations rather than full body squirms
fidgeter
vstwiddler
1 6.0

A person who cannot sit still because they feel nervous or bored

focuses on manipulating objects with hands rather than general restlessness
squirmer
vstwiddler
1 7.5

A person who cannot sit still and keeps wriggling

focuses on hand or object manipulation rather than bodily squirming
jiggler
vstwiddler
1 8.0

A thing that moves something quickly to loosen or mix it

is mainly nervous hand manipulation rather than deliberate shaking actions
wriggler
vstwiddler
  • UK
7.4

A person, often a child, who cannot sit still and moves a lot

describes hand or object manipulation rather than full body movement

Antonyms

40 3.5

A person who takes action to finish tasks

How Fidgety

fidgeter
1 6.0
twiddler
8.5

Surface Forms

twiddler singular
twiddlers plural

Morphology

twiddler = twiddle (transparent) = twiddle + er

Agentive '-er' added to the verb 'twiddle' yields a person who twiddles; the meaning is directly predictable.

Etymology

Twiddler comes from the verb twiddle, which means 'to twist or play with something small', plus the ending -er meaning 'a person who does something'. So a twiddler is someone who nervously fidgets or twists small things with their fingers, much like when you 'twist' a pen or 'fiddle' with your hair.