WRIGGLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does wriggle mean? 

• WRIGGLE (noun)
  The noun WRIGGLE has 1 sense:

1. the act of wiggling

  Familiarity information: WRIGGLE used as a noun is very rare.

• WRIGGLE (verb)
  The verb WRIGGLE has 1 sense:

1. to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling)

  Familiarity information: WRIGGLE used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WRIGGLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of wiggling

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

squirm; wiggle; wriggle

Hypernyms ("wriggle" is a kind of...):

motility; motion; move; movement (a change of position that does not entail a change of location)

Derivation:

wriggle (to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling))

wriggly (moving in a twisting or snake-like or wormlike fashion)

• WRIGGLE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they wriggle    ... he / she / it wriggles   
Past simple: wriggled   
Past participle: wriggled   
-ing form: wriggling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

To move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling)

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

squirm; twist; worm; wrestle; wriggle; writhe

Context example:

The child tried to wriggle free from his aunt's embrace

Hypernyms (to "wriggle" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wriggle"):

wrench (make a sudden twisting motion)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

wriggle (the act of wiggling)

wriggler (one who can't stay still (especially a child))

 Context examples 

Holmes was outwardly calm, but his whole body gave a wriggle of suppressed excitement as he spoke.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The two friends chatted in intimate converse for a few minutes, recalling once again the days of the past, while their prisoner vainly wriggled to undo the bonds that held him.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair, as was his habit when in high spirits.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“I'm Ben Gunn, I am,” replied the maroon, wriggling like an eel in his embarrassment.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

He whined placatingly, squirmed and wriggled to show his good will and intentions, and even ventured, as a bribe for peace, to lick Buck’s face with his warm wet tongue.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Meg always insisted upon it that the kiss won the victory, for after it was given, Demi sobbed more quietly, and lay quite still at the bottom of the bed, whither he had wriggled in his anguish of mind.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

If one happens only to shut the door a little hard, she starts and wriggles like a young dab-chick in the water; and Benwick sits at her elbow, reading verses, or whispering to her, all day long.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Wilson and eight others were wriggling on the top of each other on the floor, and the blood and the brown sherry on that table turn me sick now when I think of it.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was not until one of these creatures wriggled on to a sand-bank within a few hundred yards of us, and exposed a barrel-shaped body and huge flippers behind the long serpent neck, that Challenger, and Summerlee, who had joined us, broke out into their duet of wonder and admiration.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Something wriggled under his feet.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)