Definition

1. Verb:

   • To wriggle or twist the body from side to side, especially because of discomfort, nervousness, or embarrassment: It describes a physical movement, often small and restless, made when someone is uneasy or trying to get free.
   • To feel or show acute mental discomfort or embarrassment: Used figuratively to describe an emotional state of unease.

2. Noun:

   • A wriggling or twisting movement: The act of squirming.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • The child began to squirm in his seat during the long, boring lecture.
  • She made him squirm with her pointed questions about his past.
  • The worm squirmed in the dirt after the rain.

• Noun:

  • With a final squirm, the puppy escaped from my arms.

Advanced Usage

• "to make someone squirm": to cause someone to feel very embarrassed or uncomfortable.

  • The prosecutor's relentless questioning was designed to make the witness squirm.

• "squirm out of (something)": to avoid an obligation, duty, or difficult situation in a cunning or evasive way. (Note: This is a phrasal verb using the target word).

  • He always tries to squirm out of doing the dishes.

Variants and Related Words

• Squirmy (adjective): Characterized by or causing a tendency to squirm; fidgety.
  • The squirmy toddler couldn't sit still for the photo.

Synonyms

• Wriggle: To twist and turn with quick, short movements.
• Writhe: To make twisting, squirming movements, often due to great pain.
• Fidget: To make small movements, especially of the hands and feet, through nervousness or impatience.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Squirm out of: To avoid something (a responsibility, an appointment) in a clever or dishonest way.
  • He managed to squirm out of the meeting by pretending to be sick.

Related Idioms

• Squirm like a worm on a hook: To show extreme discomfort or agitation, akin to a caught worm.
  • Under the boss's stern gaze, he squirmed like a worm on a hook.

Noun

1. the act of wiggling

Verb

1. to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling)
   • The prisoner writhed in discomfort
   • The child tried to wriggle free from his aunt's embrace