as in twitched
to make jerky or restless movements
small children are likely to fidget in church
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Recent Examples of fidgeted
One woman ordered some home furniture while two children fidgeted nearby.
—
David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026
Between each dance was an excruciating silence during which network-TV producers monitored and reset their equipment while the men fidgeted onstage like excitable children.
—Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Children fidgeted in the relentless August heat.
—Jacqui Gifford, Travel + Leisure, 29 Sep. 2025
David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026
Between each dance was an excruciating silence during which network-TV producers monitored and reset their equipment while the men fidgeted onstage like excitable children.
—Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Children fidgeted in the relentless August heat.
—Jacqui Gifford, Travel + Leisure, 29 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fidgeted
Verb
-
Pebbles twitched, branches waggled, cholla wiggled, weeds erupted then dried up and died.—
Alina Hartounian,
NPR,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Kearse twitched briefly after the lethal drugs began entering his system but stopped moving several minutes later.—
Freida Frisaro,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
His Japanese guest, usually a paragon of diplomatic cool, visibly squirmed.—
Andreas Kluth,
Twin Cities,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Substitute Nikolas Nartey completed the scoring in stoppage time with another deflected shot that squirmed in off the far post.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The plane jerked to a stop as two trucks passed just feet in front of its nose.—
Alexandra Skores,
CNN Money,
16 Apr. 2026
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We are jerked between past and present as his backstory gets filled in, one jogged memory at a time.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In an over hourlong debate Tuesday at Pomona College’s Bridges Auditorium, eight candidates running for California governor sparred over health care and tossed jabs just days before Californians can begin voting early in the state's primary election.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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They got tossed into the garbage also after a Stop Sale.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But what does some scientist know about eating fruit, of all things, when your hamstring feels like it’s being fiddled by Satan?—
Dan England,
Outside,
5 Feb. 2026
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As Rossini stowed her purse in a tiny back office, a manager named Katie Atlas was onboarding a new employee, a young woman who fiddled nervously with her necklace.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Arndt allowed baserunners in each of the first five innings but wiggled out of most of the jams.—
Paul Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Pebbles twitched, branches waggled, cholla wiggled, weeds erupted then dried up and died.—
Alina Hartounian,
NPR,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fidgeted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fidgeted. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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