squirm

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• Received-Pronunciation: /skwɜːm/
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• General-American: /skwɝm/
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)m
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• CMU ARPABET: S K W ER1 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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First recorded 1690's, originally used of eels; cognate with Scots squimmer (“to wriggle, squirm”). Of uncertain origin. Compare dialectal quirm, whirm (“to disappear quickly, vanish suddenly and mysteriously”), Norwegian kverva (“to turn around, take away, remove, shrink”), from Old Norse hverfa (“to turn, vanish”). Alternatively, perhaps imitative or related to worm (in the sense of writhing movement) or swarm.

69 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Breton: tortigellañ — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Bulgarian: гърча се (gǎrča se) — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Catalan: serpentejar — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Dutch: wriemelen — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Dutch: wringen — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Esperanto: svingiĝi — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Finnish: kiemurrella — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Finnish: vääntelehtiä — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• French: gigoter — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• French: remuer — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• French: se tortiller — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• German: sich winden — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Greek: στριφογυρίζω (strifogyrízo) — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Ancient Greek: στρεφογυρίζω (strephogurízō) — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Hungarian: vonaglik — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Hungarian: tekereg — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Hungarian: fészkelődik — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Hungarian: izeg-mozog — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Ingrian: vingertää — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Japanese: 蠢く (ugomeku) — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Māori: takaokeoke — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Māori: kōiriiri — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Māori: karapetapetau — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Māori: tīwheta — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Norwegian: vri seg — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Polish: wić się — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Portuguese: serpentear — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Portuguese: contorcer — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Portuguese: retorcer — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Portuguese: ondular — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Portuguese: ondear — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Russian: извива́ться (izvivátʹsja) — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Russian: изгиба́ться (izgibátʹsja) — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Russian: ко́рчиться (kórčitʹsja) — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Serbo-Croatian: migoljiti — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Serbo-Croatian: meškoljiti — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Spanish: serpentear — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Spanish: retorcerse — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Tamil: நெளி (neḷi) — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Thai: ดิ้น (dîn) — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Ottoman Turkish: بالقلامق (balıklamak) — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Ukrainian: ви́тися (výtysja) — twist one’s body with snakelike motion
• Bulgarian: гърча се (gǎrča se) — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• Catalan: recaragolar-se — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• Dutch: wriemelen — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• Finnish: kiemurrella — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• German: sich winden — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• Hungarian: feszeng — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• Māori: takaokeoke — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• Norwegian: vri seg — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• Polish: wprawić w zakłopotanie — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• Portuguese: contorcer — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• Russian: поёживаться (pojóživatʹsja) — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• Russian: ёрзать (jórzatʹ) — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• Russian: ёжиться (jóžitʹsja) — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• Spanish: avergonzarse — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• Swedish: skruva (sig) — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• Ukrainian: ко́рчитися (kórčytysja) — twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
• Bulgarian: отбягвам (otbjagvam) — to evade a question, an interviewer etc.
• Dutch: ontwijken — to evade a question, an interviewer etc.
• Finnish: kiemurrella — to evade a question, an interviewer etc.
• French: louvoyer — to evade a question, an interviewer etc.
• German: sich winden — to evade a question, an interviewer etc.
• Norwegian: vri seg unna — to evade a question, an interviewer etc.
• Polish: wywinąć się — to evade a question, an interviewer etc.
• Russian: уви́ливать (uvílivatʹ) — to evade a question, an interviewer etc.
• Spanish: escabullirse — to evade a question, an interviewer etc.
• Ukrainian: ухиля́тися (uxyljátysja) — to evade a question, an interviewer etc.
• Ukrainian: ухили́тися (uxylýtysja) — to evade a question, an interviewer etc.