Word · CEFR C2 · Frequency #15752
squirm
扭动；蠕动
to twist the body with snakelike motions
- 1.
To twist one's body with snakelike motions.
身体扭动如蛇行
- 2.
To twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment.
因不适,尤其是羞愧或尴尬而扭动。
- 3.
To evade a question, an interviewer etc.
回避问题、采访者等
局促不安；窘迫地扭动；回避；搪塞；身体扭动如蛇行；因不适,尤其是羞愧或尴尬而扭动。；回避问题、采访者等
In use
The little girl squirmed in her seat during the long speech.
He was squirming with embarrassment when everyone started clapping for him.
My dog squirms whenever I try to brush its teeth.
Verb forms
base squirm · third person squirms · -ing squirming · past squirmed · past participle squirmed
常规变化，注意第三人称单数加-s。
Connections
Collocations
- squirm in one's seat
- 在座位上局促不安地扭动
- The child squirmed in his seat during the long ceremony.在冗长的仪式中，那个孩子在座位上局促不安地扭动。
- squirm with embarrassment
- 因尴尬而扭动不安
- She squirmed with embarrassment when they sang "Happy Birthday" to her.当他们为她唱《生日快乐》歌时，她尴尬得扭动不安。
- make someone squirm
- 使某人局促不安
- The teacher's direct question made the student squirm.老师直接的问题让那个学生局促不安。
- squirm uncomfortably
- 难堪地扭动
- He squirmed uncomfortably under her critical gaze.在她挑剔的目光下，他难堪地扭动着。
- squirm out of something
- 逃避（责任、问题等）
- He tried to squirm out of answering the question.他试图逃避回答这个问题。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
squirm 拼写像 squiggle（扭动）加 worm（虫）：像虫子一样扭动，也指尴尬时局促不安地扭动。
Context & Register
语域：mixed 常见场景：describing a child fidgeting or an animal moving、relating discomfort, shame, or embarrassment、evading a question in an interview or conversation squirm 的语域随含义和使用场合变化：字面义“扭动”和因尴尬而扭动通常属中性，多用于日常口语和叙述；用于“回避问题”的含义时多带口语色彩，比较常见于非正式表达。请结合具体搭配和语境选择。
Pronunciation & Spelling
All of these words contain the same vowel sound as the target's stressed vowel, so worm, term, and firm are true rhymes. Bird, squirt, and first are lookalikes: they share the 'ir' spelling (and 'squ' in squirt) but end in different consonant sounds /d/, /t/, /st/, so they don't rhyme with squirm.
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 1，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, OCTANOVE, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.