Squirm vs Squeeze - What's the difference?
squirm | squeeze |
To twist one’s body with snakelike motions.
* 1918 , (Edgar Rice Burroughs), Chapter IV
* 1922 , (Virginia Woolf), (w, Jacob's Room) Chapter 1
To twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment.
* 2010 , ,
To evade (a question, an interviewer etc).
(figuratively) To move in a slow, irregular motion.
* {{quote-news
, year=2011
, date=February 5
, author=Michael Kevin Darling
, title=Tottenham 2 - 1 Bolton
, work=BBC
To apply pressure to from two or more sides at once
* 1922 , (Virginia Woolf), (w, Jacob's Room) Chapter 1
(ambitransitive) To fit into a tight place
* {{quote-news
, year=2010
, date=December 29
, author=Sam Sheringham
, title=Liverpool 0 - 1 Wolverhampton
, work=BBC
* 1908 ,
To remove something with difficulty, or apparent difficulty
To put in a difficult position by presenting two or more choices
* 2013 May 23, , "
(figurative) To oppress with hardships, burdens, or taxes; to harass.
* L'Estrange
(baseball) To attempt to score a runner from third by bunting
A difficult position
A traversal of a narrow passage
A hug or other affectionate grasp
(slang) A romantic partner
(baseball) The act of bunting in an attempt to score a runner from third
(epigraphy) An impression of an inscription formed by pressing wet paper onto the surface and peeling off when dry.
(card games) A play that forces an opponent to discard a card that gives up one or more tricks.
(archaic) A bribe or fee paid to a middleman, especially in China.
As verbs the difference between squirm and squeeze
is that squirm is to twist one’s body with snakelike motions while squeeze is to apply pressure to from two or more sides at once.As nouns the difference between squirm and squeeze
is that squirm is a twisting, snakelike movement of the body while squeeze is a difficult position.squirm
English
Verb
(en verb)- The prisoner managed to squirm out of the straitjacket.
- ...around us there had sprung up a perfect bedlam of screams and hisses and a seething caldron of hideous reptiles, devoid of fear and filled only with hunger and with rage. They clambered, squirmed and wriggled to the deck, forcing us steadily backward, though we emptied our pistols into them.
- "Throw it away, dear, do," she said, as they got into the road; but Jacob squirmed away from her...
- I recounted the embarrassing story in detail just to watch him squirm .
Questionable Content 1686: Twist in the Wind
- MARIGOLD: Should I tell them I know?
- DORA: Nah, let ’em squirm . Let’s go get some pie.
citation, page= , passage=The Dutchman then missed a retaken second spot-kick, before the Trotters hit back when Daniel Sturridge's shot squirmed under Heurelho Gomes. }}
Derived terms
* squirmage * squirmish * squirmishness * squirmySynonyms
* (twist with snakelike motions) writhe, wriggle * (twist in discomfort) fidgetsqueeze
English
Verb
(squeez)- I squeezed the ball between my hands.
- Please don't squeeze the toothpaste tube in the middle.
- "Over there—by the rock," Steele muttered, with his brush between his teeth, squeezing out raw sienna, and keeping his eyes fixed on Betty Flanders's back.
- I managed to squeeze the car into that parking space.
- Can you squeeze through that gap?
citation, page= , passage=It was an omen of things to come as in the 56th minute the visitors took the lead after a mix-up between Skrtel and Sotirios Kyrgiakos allowed Ebanks-Blake's through-ball to squeeze between them.}}
- Could he not squeeze under the seat of a carriage? He had seen this method adopted by schoolboys, when the journey- money provided by thoughtful parents had been diverted to other and better ends.
- He squeezed some money out of his wallet.
- I'm being squeezed between my job and my volunteer work.
British Leader’s Liberal Turn Sets Off a Rebellion in His Party," New York Times (retrieved 29 May 2013):
- At a time when Mr. Cameron is being squeezed from both sides — from the right by members of his own party and by the anti-immigrant, anti-Europe U.K. Independence Party, and from the left by his Liberal Democrat coalition partners — the move seemed uncharacteristically clunky.
- In a civil war, people must expect to be crushed and squeezed toward the burden.
- Jones squeezed in Smith with a perfect bunt.
Derived terms
(terms derived from the verb "squeeze") * squeezable * squeezebox * squeeze in * squeeze out * squeezer * squeezy * unsqueezeNoun
(en noun)- I'm in a tight squeeze right now when it comes to my free time.
- It was a tight squeeze , but I got through to the next section of the cave.
- a gentle squeeze on the arm
- I want to be your main squeeze
- The game ended in exciting fashion with a failed squeeze .
- The light not being good enough for photography, I took a squeeze of the stone.