WRIGGLE


Meaning of WRIGGLE in English

I. wrig ‧ gle 1 /ˈrɪɡ ə l/ BrE AmE verb

[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: Probably from Middle Low German wriggeln ]

1 . [intransitive] to twist your body from side to side with small quick movements:

Stop wriggling and let me put your T-shirt on.

wriggle under/through/into

He wriggled through the window.

The dog wriggled free and ran off.

2 . [transitive] to move a part of your body backwards and forwards with small movements:

She took off her shoes and wriggled her toes.

—wriggly adjective :

a wriggly worm

• • •

THESAURUS

▪ move to go to a different place, or change the position of your body:

Sarah moved away from the window.

|

Every time I move I get a pain in my left shoulder.

▪ sway to move slowly from one side to the other:

The branches swayed in the wind.

|

Donny swayed drunkenly as he walked back to his car.

▪ rock to move repeatedly from one side to another, with small gentle movements:

He rocked backward and forward in his chair.

|

The boat rocked from side to side with the waves.

▪ wobble to move unsteadily from side to side:

The bike wobbled a bit, but she soon got it under control.

▪ fidget to keep moving or playing with your fingers, hands, feet etc, because you are bored or nervous:

Diana fidgeted nervously with her pencil.

▪ squirm to make very small movements from side to side with your body, especially because you feel uncomfortable:

By the end of the hour, most of the children were squirming in their seats.

▪ wriggle to make small movements from side to side, especially in order to get into or out of something:

The dog wriggled under the fence and escaped into the street.

|

She managed to wriggle into the dress, but it was much too tight.

▪ twitch if part of your body twitches, it makes small movements that you cannot control:

A muscle on Yang’s face twitched.

▪ stir written to make a movement – used especially when describing a situation in which no one moves, or someone wakes up:

In the village a dog barked but no one stirred

|

The sleeping child stirred and opened her eyes.

▪ budge to move – used when you are trying hard to make something move, often without success:

The piano wouldn’t budge.

wriggle out of something phrasal verb

1 . to avoid doing something by using clever excuses SYN get out of something :

Don’t try to wriggle out of your responsibilities.

2 . to take off a tight piece of clothing by twisting your body from side to side:

She wriggled out of her dress.

II. wriggle 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]

a movement in which you twist your body from side to side

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.