TWITCHED Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

twitched

verb

past tense of twitch

as in fidgeted

to make jerky or restless movements the dog twitched in her sleep

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in jerked

to move or cause to move with a sharp quick motion the rabbit twitched its nose

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of twitched Just then, Chee Meng’s fishing rod twitched, and the line began to run out. — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026 During the test, Linton jerked and twitched in what prosecutors described as an attempt to fake a seizure. — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026 Many a club’s board would have twitched in the face of the bare data, but the chain of command above Arteta stayed the course, and the FOMO is so high that tickets for Palace away this weekend are going for £45,000 ($60,000) on resale sites. — Phil Hay, New York Times, 21 May 2026 My jaw twitched uncontrollably. — Literary Hub, 15 May 2026 Pebbles twitched, branches waggled, cholla wiggled, weeds erupted then dried up and died. — Alina Hartounian, NPR, 20 Apr. 2026 Kearse twitched briefly after the lethal drugs began entering his system but stopped moving several minutes later. — Freida Frisaro, Sun Sentinel, 3 Mar. 2026 Baby Briana’s arms twitched and legs flopped against cold concrete. — Jayme Fraser, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026 Through the scope, a polar bear twitched on the ice, 25 yards in front of me. — Scott Haugen, Outdoor Life, 4 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for twitched

Verb

One woman ordered some home furniture while two children fidgeted nearby.

— David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026
Between each dance was an excruciating silence during which network-TV producers monitored and reset their equipment while the men fidgeted onstage like excitable children.

— Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026

Definition of fidgeted

Verb

During the test, Linton jerked and twitched in what prosecutors described as an attempt to fake a seizure.

— James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Somewhere nearby, in a dark office, an eavesdropping oreja has just jerked to attention on his hard little chair.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of jerked

Verb

Ignoring that rule could get flood insurance coverage yanked for an entire community.

— Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
Wi-Fi is not free on those services; T-Mobile used to comp at least an hour of connectivity for subscribers, but quietly yanked that benefit in April.

— Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of yanked

Verb

Yet Abrams still won’t kvetch about being crammed into a tiny whale-stomach set with a camera crew, while a half-dozen crew members surrounding the practical gut, wielding a gimbal, tossed him around like a wet rag doll.

— Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
Ohtani turned to the Dodgers’ dugout, spread his arms wide and tossed his bat to the side.

— Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of tossed

Verb

As a woman waded through the waters around the Bridge Side Marina in Bridge Isle, Louisiana, the tiny canine with a fluffy white coat wiggled his forelegs as if swimming, video of the cute moment shows.

— Erika Angulo, NBC news, 11 Oct. 2026
Imanaga wiggled out of a one-out double in the first, then was supported by Pete Crow-Armstrong’s eighth leadoff home run of the season and the second in as many games.

— Andy Martinez, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of wiggled

Verb

Shohei Ohtani emerged from the visiting dugout at American Family Field with a bat in his hand, and the mass of media members scattered in foul territory up the third-base line shifted his way, pulled by the magnetic force that is Ohtani’s stardom.

— Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
On Wednesday, the Congressional Leadership Fund, the House Republicans' super PAC, effectively dropped its push to boost Tijerina and pulled millions of dollars in ads from the district, a person familiar with the decision confirmed.

— Justin Papp, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of pulled

Browse Nearby Words

twitch

twitched

twitches

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Twitched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/twitched. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of twitched

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

compunction

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes