squirmish
UK/ˈskwɜːmɪʃ/US/ˈskwɝmɪʃ/
squirmish adjective: showing signs of restlessness resulting from feelings of discomfort or distress.
Adjective
squirmish (comparative more squirmish, superlative most squirmish)
- showing signs of restlessness resulting from feelings of discomfort or distress.
- I think it embarrassed us a little when the Russians shot the fellow down and we denied that he was there, and the President later had to identify that as a "cover story". I remember the words, even. It made me feel a little squirmish.1971, U.S. Government information policies and practices--the Pentagon Papers: Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, Ninety-second...
Noun
squirmish (plural squirmishes)
- A skirmish.
- “Ah!” resumed Stebby, “you have not known Put as long as I have. He had rather see a fight or a squirmish any time than not.” “Skirmish,” said Freeman. “Squirmish, I said,” retorted Stebby, “and yet, Put is really — well, Put is really at heart you know” “A coward,” said Put.1890, Carrie L. May, “Chapter III Court Room at Squire Ford's”, in Sylvia's Burden, volume 3, J. D. Williams, page 40
- Usage shifted from formal to less formal with each new generation. Words themselves changed. Why, I wonder, did two old soldiers both use "squirmish" rather than "skirmish" line? (Robert Norman says of Wounded Knee confrontation: "We were ordered to make a ‘squirmish’ line around those Indians...1991, Sylvia Griffith Wheeler, This Fool History: An Oral History of Dakota Territory, volume 3, University of South Dakota Press, →ISBN
Verb
squirmish (third-person singular simple present squirmishes, present participle squirmishing, simple past and past participle squirmished)
- To squirmingly skirmish.
Examples of squirmish in a sentence
- A battle or squirmish occurred on this property between settlers and native American Indians.2014 February 24, Paul Roberts, HPI Case Files Book 1, Lulu.com, →ISBN:
- Others that have evoked smirks have been “miscommunicado” (from “miscommunicate” and “incommunicado”), “insinuendo” (from “innuendo” and “insinuation”), and “squirmish” (“squirm” and “skirmish”).2017 December 4, Roslyn Petelin, “The horror and pleasure of misused words: from mispronunciation to malapropisms”, in The Conversation...
- Darrell and Michael move in- but, before the inevitable squirmish ensues, another bouncer quickly moves toward the incident.2019 July 8, Demetrius Divine Carey, “Section 2”, in One Man's Money: A Novel, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 44:
- Stephanie discovered an article I wrote about CSM James Norton who witnessed the 1977 squirmish between UFOs and our US Military.2019 November 24, Paul Dale Roberts & Deanna Jaxine Stinson, HPI: Conquering Our Fears, Lulu.com, →ISBN:
Forms of squirmish
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more squirmish |
| superlative | most squirmish |
| Noun | |
| plural | squirmishes |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | squirmishes |
| present participle | squirmishing |
| past participle | squirmished |
| past | squirmished |
Origin of squirmish
From squirm + -ish.
Blend of squirm + skirmish.
Questions about squirmish
- What does squirmish mean?
- Squirmish means showing signs of restlessness resulting from feelings of discomfort or distress.
- How do you use squirmish in a sentence?
- A battle or squirmish occurred on this property between settlers and native American Indians.
- What part of speech is squirmish?
- Squirmish can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce squirmish?
- Squirmish is pronounced /ˈskwɝmɪʃ/ (US).
Words near squirmish in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: squirmish (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “squirmish.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/squirmish. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.