Meaning & use
squirm
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To twist and wriggle your body, usually because you feel embarrassed, uneasy or bored.
Grammar: No object: he squirmed in his seat.
Patterns
- squirm in your seat
- squirm with embarrassment
The student squirmed in her chair while the teacher read the grade.
He squirmed with embarrassment when they sang happy birthday.
The little boy squirmed during the long speech.
verbintransitive
To move by twisting, as a worm or small animal does.
Grammar: Often followed by a direction: squirm out of something.
Patterns
- squirm out of something
- squirm through something
The puppy squirmed out of my arms.
A worm squirmed across the wet path.
She squirmed through the gap in the fence.
verbintransitivefigurative
To feel or look very uncomfortable when facing something awkward.
Grammar: Often used figuratively: squirm at the thought.
Patterns
- squirm at something
I squirm every time I hear my old voicemail.
The politician squirmed when asked about the scandal.
She squirmed at the memory of the mistake.
Word forms
| third person singular | squirms |
|---|---|
| past tense | squirmed |
| past participle | squirmed |
| -ing form | squirming |
Common combinations
- squirm in your seat
- He squirmed in his seat as the speech dragged on.
- squirm with embarrassment
- She squirmed with embarrassment.
- make someone squirm
- The question made him squirm.
- squirm out of
- The cat squirmed out of the towel.
- squirm uncomfortably
- The witness squirmed uncomfortably.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wriggle
- Wriggle is more about physical twisting, while squirm adds a sense of discomfort.
- fidget
- Fidget means small restless movements from boredom or nerves, without the twisting.
- writhe
- Writhe suggests stronger twisting, often from pain.
Opposites
Word family
- squirmy adjective
- tending to squirm
- squirming adjective
- twisting about
- squirmer noun
- a person or animal that squirms
Commonly confused: squirm or squirrel?
squirm vs squirrel
A squirrel is an animal; squirm is a verb of twisting.
Practice
The child began to ____ in his chair when the speaker went on for an hour.
Choose one answer.
Twisting restlessly from discomfort is squirming. The other verbs do not describe seated restlessness.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “squirm”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.