wormed

past tense of worm
1
as in encroached
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits neighborhoods worming into lands reserved for wildlife

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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

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3
as in crept
to move slowly with the body close to the ground the cat silently wormed along the ground as it snuck up on the bird

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wormed
Verb
  • 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
  • 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
  • According to an August 2025 scoping review published in the Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, aspects of the pandemic may have infiltrated our relationships, too.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • The top country hits have infiltrated pop culture and are played everywhere.
    Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Chicago's wild card lead over the San Diego Padres has crept down to just two games with a little under three weeks remaining in the season.
    Andrew Wright, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
  • The jobs report from July shattered the narrative that the economy of 2025 was strong, revising previous figures downward and revealing something close to an 80% collapse in hiring, even as inflation crept upwards and layoffs rolled.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • On Wednesday, a similar scene closely followed as the funeral procession for Kansas City, Kansas, police officer Hunter Simoncic crawled along through the highways and streets in the community Simoncic worked to keep safe.
    Emily Curiel, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Eby crawled across a ladder over the water to the vehicle, then crawled back with the child on his back, the video shows.
    Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Supporting star Jason Momoa walked the red carpet in a striking pink suit prior to the screening but snuck out with his entourage before the film played.
    Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Near Broadbelt’s home, a very small dog snuck out from behind a fence and barked at reporters on the sidewalk.
    Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Lines snaked around every outside court, contrasting sharply with the ones only in use for practice, sparsely and quietly populated with players honing their skills for the bigger stages.
    Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
  • Hundreds of energized voters snaked around Union Square on Sunday afternoon, as New Yorkers sought one of the limited Zohran Mamdani Scavenger Hunt cards at the first clue stop.
    Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Fatemian simply bunches each slice slightly, creating a ruffled, flower-like radish slice that is then inserted between the rest of the vegetables.
    Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Royals manager Matt Quatraro inserted utilityman Nick Loftin into the game for defense.
    Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Putts that had been falling slid past the cup.
    Zach Sweet, Kansas City Star, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Tagovailoa slid to his right to buy time and was targeting slot receiver Malik Washington on the third-and-3 pass Latu jumped in front of.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Wormed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wormed. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.

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