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wriggle

UK:^*^*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈrɪg^əl/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈrɪgəl/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(rig′əl)

Inflections of 'wriggle' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

wriggles: v 3rd person singular

wriggling: v pres p

wriggled: v past

wriggled: v past p

wrig•gle /ˈrɪgəl/USA pronunciation v., -gled, -gling, n.
v.

to twist from one side to the other;
squirm;
writhe: [no object]The child was wriggling in his seat.[~ + object]to wriggle one's toes.
to move along by twisting and turning the body, as a worm: [no object]The worm wriggled in the dirt.[~ + object]He wriggled his way through the narrow tunnel.
wriggle out of, [~ + out of + object] to escape from or avoid:He tried to wriggle out of doing the work.

n. [countable]

the act or motion of wriggling:a little wriggle of the hips.

wrig•gler, n. [countable]
wrig•gly, adj., -gli•er, -gli•est :a wriggly little worm.

wrig•gle (rig′əl),USA pronunciation v., -gled, -gling, n.
v.i.

to twist to and fro;
writhe;
squirm.
to move along by twisting and turning the body, as a worm or snake.
to make one's way by shifts or expedients (often fol. by out):to wriggle out of a difficulty.

v.t.

to cause to wriggle:to wriggle one's hips.
to bring, get, make, etc., by wriggling:to wriggle one's way through a narrow opening.

act of wriggling;
a wriggling movement.

Middle Low German wriggelen (cognate with Dutch wriggelen), frequentative of *wriggen to twist, turn, akin to Old English wrīgian to twist; see wry
1485–95

wrig′gling•ly, adv.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

wriggle /ˈrɪɡ^əl/ vb

to make or cause to make twisting movements
(intransitive) to progress by twisting and turning
(intransitive; followed by into or out of) to manoeuvre oneself by clever or devious means: wriggle out of an embarrassing situation

a wriggling movement or action
a sinuous marking or course

Etymology: 15th Century: from Middle Low German; compare Dutch wriggelenˈwriggler n ˈwriggly adj

'wriggle' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

squiggle - wrist - wriggler - wrigglework - wriggly - writhe - squirm

In Lists: Words with a silent "w", Verbs of movement, Word of the day, more...

Synonyms: squirm, convulse, wiggle, twitch, writhe, more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "wriggle" in the title:

Differences between wriggle and wiggle
In you go! Oh, he does wriggle so.
One must try to wriggle through by subtle maneuvers
She managed to wriggle free
Squirm, writhe, wriggle, wiggle: Differences?
to TWIST /to WRIGGLE
What's the difference between squirm and wriggle?
"wiggle or wriggle" out of it
wriggle-early

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⇱ wriggle - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

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