formicate
Verb: * To move or swarm in a manner resembling ants; to crawl about in a dense, teeming mass.
The verb "formicate" is a highly specific and somewhat literary term. It is almost exclusively used to describe the movement of a large number of small creatures or, metaphorically, people or things, when they appear to move in a dense, restless, and seemingly chaotic swarm, similar to an anthill. It often carries a connotation of unsettling or overwhelming activity. * The sight of cockroaches formicating over the garbage made her shudder. * Protesters formicated through the city's narrow streets. * A sense of dread formicated up his spine. (Metaphorical use)
- Sensory Description: "Formicate" is effective in creating vivid, often disturbing, imagery related to touch and sight. It implies not just movement, but a specific of movement—incessant, collective, and creeping.
- The idea that insects were formicating beneath the floorboards kept him awake at night.
- Metaphorical Application: The term is frequently used metaphorically to describe sensations (like pins and needles) or abstract concepts (like thoughts or populations) that feel unnervingly active and numerous.
- After his foot fell asleep, a formicating numbness spread through his toes.
- Formication (noun): The medical/psychiatric term for the sensation that insects are crawling on or under the skin. It is a specific type of tactile hallucination.
- A common symptom of withdrawal can be intense formication.
- Swarm: To move in or form a large, dense group.
- Teem: To be full of or swarming with.
- Crawl: To move slowly with the body close to the ground or on hands and knees.
- Seethe: To be crowded with people or things moving about in a rapid, hectic way.
It is crucial to distinguish "formicate" from the phonetically similar but etymologically distinct word "fornicate." They are not related and have completely different meanings. "Formicate" derives from Latin formica (ant), while "fornicate" derives from Latin fornix (arch, vault, brothel).
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crawl about like ants
