(v. i.) To move uneasily one way and the other; to move irregularly, or by fits and starts.
(n.) Uneasiness; restlessness.
(n.) A general nervous restlessness, manifested by incessant changes of position; dysphoria.
Example Sentences:
(1) Updated at 5.11pm BST 5.07pm BST 68th over: Sri Lanka 251-9 (Herath 10, Pradeep 11) Plunkett sends one towards Herath's visage, and he fidgets it down without looking happy in the process, before Pradeep guides one over the slips and gets two.
(2) Hyperactive, and fidgeting behavior in children, is not a new syndrome, but has been present in children for centuries.
(3) Small wonder that the few fans left were sat fidgeting in silence, that the injured David Villa, Carlos Marchena, Rubén Baraja and Santi Cañizares had their heads in their hands up in the stands, or that the Youmus ultras turned their backs on the pitch.
(4) At one point, I fidget with my glasses so as to read the programme – Chloe swings round and throws me a stinging glance of reproach, like a seasoned concert-goer scolding a child – rather than the other way round.
(5) As one question follows another he fidgets, criss-crosses legs, examines my phone, broods, winces, tugs his hair, yanks it up, then down, then to the side, momentarily creating a mad professor effect which would be funny were it not for the death stare.
(6) The characters are always smiling, frowning, blushing, twitching, fidgeting, touching, kissing, bowing, sobbing, and deconstructing these signs in each other.
(7) Civil war still a bitter memory as El Salvador prepares to beatify Romero Read more Instead, the federal public defender who has taken on Montano’s case, James E Todd, bombarded the court with 44 pieces of evidence – mostly declassified diplomatic cables from the time – all of which he slowly read aloud for several hours as the prosecutor openly fidgeted and rolled his eyes.
(8) The propositus, a 57-year-old man, suffered from repeated, intense, asymmetric flexion jerks of the lower extremities, alternating with fidgeting and friction movements of the legs; all occurred at night prior to sleep and severely interfering with it.
(9) We have good evidence that certain behaviours – scratching or fidgeting – is an indicator of anxiety, and in certain zoos those behaviours increase in frequency as visitor numbers go up and they get more noisy.” According to Dr Emily Bethell, senior lecturer in primate behaviour at Liverpool John Moores University , the fact a captive gorilla was charging at the glass, banging on objects or throwing objects did not necessarily mean it was unhappy, since this was classic “display” behaviour designed to assert his dominance.
(10) "Quite the opposite," says Bird, his fidgeting kicking up a gear.
(11) What was actually being transmitted, for what now seems an eternity, was us: sitting, staring, frowning, fidgeting.
(12) Her anxiety was manifested by facial twitching, hand fidgeting, vocal tremor, loss of self-esteem, and depression.
(13) He fidgeted and moved constantly, tapping on his smartphone, buying arms, selling rockets, importing cars and arranging schooling for his many nephews and nieces.
(14) The most obvious evidence of lowered vigilance is motor restlessness (fidgeting and moving about, yawning and stretching, talkativeness, or a combination of these) to improve alertness when sitting or standing still or when involved in tasks requiring continuous mental performance.
(15) Ectomesenchyme affected by the white gene stimulated optic-vesicle growth, to some extent suppressing the effect of the fidget gene.
(16) Urban and electronica have thrown up endless new sub-genres: there was crunk and hyphy in the US, while in Britain you could take your pick from dubstep, grime, fidget house, purple wow, sublow, 8-bar or eski-beat.
(17) Mourinho fidgeted frustratedly in his technical area, his mood darkened when Ryan Bennett swung his leg to challenge Hazard in the area with the Belgian leaping to avoid the limb and tumbling to the turf as a result.
(18) After much fidgeting and prevarication, Cain eventually claimed he would have done a better job than the president.
(19) And so I sat fidgeting, scrawling on the newspapers, peering and shuffling.
(20) They had Nike shopping bags and new jeans, and the smuggler was – as usual – fidgeting with his phone.
Niggle
Definition:
(v. t.) To trifle with; to deceive; to mock.
(v. t.) To trifle or play.
(v. t.) To act or walk mincingly.
(v. t.) To fret and snarl about trifles.
Example Sentences:
(1) But I also feel a niggling strain of jealousy, even resentment, that it wasn't as easy for me the first time around as it is today for many people.
(2) But there was always a niggling suspicion that the fun couldn’t last – that Tempelhof’s unique status as a hugely valuable piece of land essentially given over to the average picnicking Berliner was too good to be true.
(3) Others face more niggling problems: in a recent post on the local Facebook group “Eliminate All Stray Dogs”, one resident claimed an unruly pack kept jumping on his car, destroying its windscreen wipers.
(4) I first saw the ad this weekend, and it's been niggling away at me ever since.
(5) Mauro Zárate has been ruled out for two weeks after injuring a hamstring, Enner Valencia will not return until October at the earliest after he suffered a serious knee injury last month and Andy Carroll’s comeback from the knee problem that has kept him out since February has been put back by a week after a niggle in training on Thursday.
(6) Ben Flower tested that theory to the limit with his attack on an initially niggling but ultimately defenceless Lance Hohaia which ensured that the 17th Super League Grand Final made a greater national and international impact than any of the previous 16.
(7) It is a troubling question that niggles away throughout our visit.
(8) Women who do have doubts or niggles are on the other side before they have a chance to think it through.
(9) This will unload the skeleton and give joints the chance to rest and recover, especially if one is prone to niggles or has a history of injuries – and you would probably therefore get more out of the long runs when you do undertake them."
(10) The niggling question Back to that niggling question: why intervene?
(11) Martínez said: “We gave all the players three penalties in training yesterday and if they scored all three then we said they could be back-up to Rom in the games, Ross did, so we said he could in the game.But he didn’t take a Panenka [in training] – he wasn’t allowed!”The Everton manager confirmed John Stones was omitted due to a “niggle” in his hamstring and is expected to be rested for a week to 10 days.
(12) Mayor Boris Johnson, whose default setting has been relentless and sometimes improbable cheerleading in the face of serious concerns and minor niggles, promised with typical restraint that as the flame "spreads through the city its radiance will dispel any last clouds of dankness and anxiety that may hover over some parts of the media".
(13) On the other hand, have niggles surfaced from continued use that weren't obvious before?
(14) I see all kinds of parents making huge efforts to ensure their children are happy, but niggling away in the back of their minds is the disturbing thought that they must prepare their children for lives which could be much harder than their own.
(15) Same-sex marriage ruling's ripple effect – historic celebrations of love Read more Almost immediately after the supreme court on Friday made same-sex marriage a right throughout the United States , conservative leaders around the south indicated they would resist the ruling with delay, bureaucratic niggling and circumvention of the verdict on religious grounds.
(16) But, as you brace yourself to elbow your way back through Heathrow terminal 3, you harbour niggling prelapsarian feelings about what you've just left behind.
(17) During saturation decompression there were 6 treated bends and 33 reported niggles.
(18) That would be a staggering achievement given she missed winter training, has had continuing achilles niggles and does not expect to be near her best for another 12 months.
(19) The niggling caveat, however, is the proliferation of known unknowns.
(20) Or, indeed, all the niggling setbacks suffered over the week which meant the 18-man match day squad included every outfield senior player available.