1
as in encroached
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits
neighborhoods worming into lands reserved for wildlife
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in infiltrated
to introduce in a gradual, secret, or clever way
over a period of several years, the undercover agent was able to worm his way into the drug kingpin's confidence
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wormed
After a scramble from Baltimore’s corner kick, Kerr’s header at the back post wormed through a thicket of defenders, and Cuthbert had the final touch.
—
Cerys Jones, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
This story has wormed its way into all levels of British cultural output.
—Will Collins, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
Cerys Jones, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
This story has wormed its way into all levels of British cultural output.
—Will Collins, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wormed
Verb
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The ads have now encroached into social media without proper disclosures with many online pharmacies not following the same rules that many pharmaceutical companies follow, a senior White House official said.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
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From the deadly 2025 Los Angeles fires to the devastating 2019-2020 Australian bushfires and the 2018 wildfire in Athens, Greece, flames have increasingly encroached upon human settlements, claiming lives and livelihoods.—
Seyd Teymoor Seydi,
The Conversation,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Harmful bacteria and other microorganisms could have infiltrated the city's water system due to the recent water main breaks, according to the City of Globe Water Department and Gila County Public Health and Community Services.—
Helen Rummel,
AZCentral.com,
16 Oct. 2025
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Hunter could always shoot, but help defenders would stray off him if a driver infiltrated the lane.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The memories of those late-game collapses crept in when the Sabres’ 4-2 lead became 4-3 early in the third period.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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But, throughout the decades, housing developments crept toward wildlands, the climate warmed, and fires increasingly escalated into unstoppable urban conflagrations.—
Ingfei Chen,
New Yorker,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Modern Wall Street has killed just about everything cool that walks or crawled at one time or another.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
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The van’s driver then crawled out of his vehicle’s window, crossed over a median and was instantly struck by a car speeding in the opposite direction, which was broadcast by the news helicopter following the chase.—
Brian Niemietz,
Mercury News,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Furthermore, when colonizers attempted to burn all evidence of Nkrumah’s time as a revolutionary leader, Hesse snuck his reels out of Ghana, and into a London vault, where the footage has spent decades inside, waiting to be digitized.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
25 Oct. 2025
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When Mumy was just a kid, Lockhart snuck him and his TV sister Cartwright into shows at the Whisky a Go Go during the height of the 1960s psychedelic scene.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Debates have raged in the busy industry program, standby ticket queues have snaked outside venues for the hottest premieres and the stars — in their droves — have been out in force and on major charm offensives, with distributors using the fest to launch both awards and release campaigns.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
17 Oct. 2025
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Tree roots and ivy creepers have also snaked through the stonework.—
Barry Neild,
CNN Money,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Vandy inserted itself into the Playoff conversation by beating LSU last week, so why is our Playoff projections model still so low on the Commodores, who entered Saturday with just an 8 percent chance?—
The Athletic College Football Staff,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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In addition, many Department of Education employees who were furloughed were surprised to see a message blaming Democrats for the government shutdown inserted into their out-of-office replies.—
The NPR Network,
NPR,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Saudi Arabia's oil revenue slid 24% in the first half of 2025 from a year earlier.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
28 Oct. 2025
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Takaichi, whose party commands a minority government and has slid in successive elections, has little room for error during her tenure.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wormed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wormed. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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