# wriggle

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈɹɪɡəl/ · frequency rank #48,022

## Definitions
1. To twist one's body to and fro with short, writhing motions; to squirm.
2. To cause something to wriggle.
3. To use crooked or devious means.

## Etymology
From wrig + -le (frequentative suffix). Compare Dutch wriggelen (“to wriggle, squirm”), Low German wriggeln (“to wriggle”). Related to Old English wrigian (“to turn, wend, hie, go move”), from Proto-Germanic *wrigōną (“to wriggle”).

## Easily confused with
- **wrinkle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wriggle-vs-wrinkle)
- **Wrigley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wriggle-vs-wrigley)
- **wiggle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wiggle-vs-wriggle)
- **wrangle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wrangle-vs-wriggle)

## Common misspellings (9)
`rwiggle`, `wirggle`, `wrgigle`, `wriggel`, `wrigglle`, `wrigle`, `wriglge`, `wrriggle`, `wwriggle`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wriggle