writhing 1 of 2

noun

as in twitching

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writhing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of writhe
1
as in weaving
to cause to twine about one another tends to writhe his fingers together when he's nervous or upset

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in squirming
to make jerky or restless movements writhing in pain from his injuries

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of writhing
Noun
Throughout the writhing and the screaming, Julia’s fortitude wears down a defiant Davina, whose history with Lovat feeds the moment. — Hunter Ingram, Variety, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
The man with almost no injury was writhing in agony, while the man with a four-inch nail lodged near his brain kept working for six days, not even realizing the nail was there. — Kevin Kruse, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026 Once Turek has finished writhing about on the floor in a shambolic attempt to gather, Czibor is on hand to whip the ball away and tuck it home from six yards, the simplest of tasks. — Adam Hurrey, New York Times, 17 July 2026 Henderson, 36, spent the match on the bench in England's 3-2 win, but quickly drew attention after falling over an advertising board, leaving him writhing in pain during a moment of victory for England. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 7 July 2026 There was no diving here; no, this was earnest, earned writhing on the grass — medically justified. — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 26 June 2026 Surrounded by her family, Sybil’s body goes limp after several intense minutes of writhing in pain on the bed. — Ew Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 25 June 2026 In the opening minutes, a crunching collision in front of the goal between Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku and Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand left Beiranvand writhing on the grass for several minutes, holding his face. — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 22 June 2026 The process involves a writhing dance that looks a lot like the dance that male and female sunfish perform with each other prior to breeding. — Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker, 22 June 2026 Adams, for one, spent a fair portion of the first half on the grass, writhing in pain. — Sean Gregory, Time, 20 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for writhing
  1. twitching
  2. weaving
  3. squirming
  4. wriggling
  5. twisting
  6. fidgeting
  7. fiddling
  8. tossing
Noun
  • Casting near banks and using a twitching technique can increase success during the hatch.
    — Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 14 May 2026
  • During this phase, octopuses display visible twitching along with rapid changes in skin color and texture, per NPR.
    — Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
Definition of twitching
Verb
  • Entertainment Tonight correspondent Emily Curl will introduce the package, weaving in interviews and on-location interviews from the newsmagazine’s 45-year library of episodes.
    — Josef Adalian, Vulture, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Adela follows her grandfather’s footsteps while transforming his political and anthropological work into art, weaving a sound map from languages at risk of disappearing.
    — Callum McLennan, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of weaving
Verb
  • With the contact patch sliding and squirming, the brakes had less to work with—and the car took just enough extra distance to end in an impact.
    — Michael Harley, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • Unless your companion could use a hand or is traveling with young kids (in the latter case, if this person also happens to be your spouse or partner, really not cool to leave them with the stroller, diaper bag, squirming kids).
    — CNT Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
Definition of squirming
Noun
  • Barnard attended the ceremony with Soprano, Lola’s female stand-in and a convincing lookalike, who accepted the collar with considerable enthusiasm and even more considerable wriggling.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026
Definition of wriggling
Verb
  • On bars – her weakest event – Jade Carey fought through a late pirouette to nearly nail her full-twisting double layout dismount.
    — Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Like Dante, Nick Tosches was an undaunted character whose tongue-twisting prose was an iconoclastic mash-up of realism and intricate, erudite lyricism.
    — A.D. Amorosi, SPIN, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of twisting
Verb
  • Following this concern, 55% of parents said their top concern was their child’s ability to complete multistep tasks such as homework while 45% of parents cited fidgeting.
    — Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Aug. 2026
  • At about 45 minutes in, guests were looking at their phones and fidgeting in their seats.
    — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 25 July 2026
Definition of fidgeting
Noun
  • Her fiddling is a looser, freer, more accessible type of memorialization—less a notation than an invocation, a summoning of her homeland’s spirit.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
  • Colorado’s lone goal was a result of some Matt Wells tactical fiddling — and Keegan Rosenberry playing like his job’s on the line — gone right.
    — Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 15 Apr. 2026
Definition of fiddling
Verb
  • Attacks every inch of the field Operating in an up-tempo version of the Air Raid, Mestemaker is a tall, fluid passer who isn’t shy tossing it all over the yard.
    — Dane Brugler, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
  • That skirmish ended with multiple Saints players pushing Ezeiruaku to the ground and Saints offensive lineman Erik McCoy tossing Ezeiruaku’s helmet to the other side of the field.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of tossing

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writhes
writhing
writing
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Cite this Entry

“Writhing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/writhing. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on writhing

Nglish: Translation of writhing for Spanish Speakers

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