squirrelly
adjective
squir·rel·ly
ˈskwər(-ə)-lē 
ˈskwə-rə-
variants
or less commonly squirrely
1
: relating to, resembling, or characteristic of a squirrel
Where I live we used to have a real groundhog … moving through the too long grass in search of grubs, nuts, or other squirrelly snacks.—
Bill Dunphy
Bill Dunphy2
chiefly US, informal
a
: tending to be unusually active : restless
That I was a squirrelly kid whose need to leap from the piano bench, run outside and roll around in the mud would sooner or later kill his chances of doing something meaningful with music.—Andrew Corsello
Andrew Corsello
b
: odd, eccentric
… a mossbacked old hard-ass (… thirty-five or forty years old), just as squirrelly as hell and literally shivering with paranoia, who hops and whoops around those evergreen forests like some mangy, half-mad freak …—Larry Heinemann
Larry HeinemannDespite a long history of observations, [Don] Yeomans is worried about [comet] Kopff's predictability. "Halley was a very constant, well-behaved comet," he says. "But Kopff is a little squirrelly."—Stephen Cole
Stephen Cole
c
: lacking stability or control : moving erratically
A little wind had kicked up, making the faster cars just a bit squirrelly through the chutes.—Robert F. Jones
Robert F. Jones
d
: morally dubious or questionable
The squirrelly guy who sold Toph that cheap lock for his bike … just before we left Chicago—I wanted to punish that man—he said it was the best lock they had, "invincible, no sweat" he said—and the bike was stolen within the week.—Dave Eggers
Dave EggersYour X-Files contract is up at season's end, you're suing your own studio for making squirrelly rerun deals …—Ken Tucker
Ken TuckerBut I'm not buying any tickets yet. There's something a little squirrelly about the whole thing, don't you think?—Stanley Bing
Stanley BingExamples of squirrelly in a Sentence
It was the end of the school year, when all the kids get a little squirrelly.
Recent Examples on the Web
Yet Chas and his squirrelly fury disrupt Anderson’s normal diorama.
—Sean Malin, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024
In a lean-to-the-bone melody filled with squirrelly synths and loping pedal steels, Lightfoot tells a literary tale of the final voyage of a ship in almost sequential detail while rhyming Gitche Gumee more than a few times.
—A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 2 May 2023
Actor Taron Egerton, who nails the squirrelly energy of the real-life Rogers, met him through Zoom calls during the height of the pandemic.
—Gene Park, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2023
Note the squirrelly language.
—Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2021
Mika Brzezinski offered tips on pinning down squirrelly guests.
—Michael M. Grynbaum, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2023
Novak, who spent years refining the squirrelly ticks of his self-regarding salesman Ryan on nine seasons of The Office, isn't a demonstrably different dude here.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 29 July 2022
Maybe it’s the exhausting smarm, the squirrelly ambition, the hollow theatrics.
—Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2021
Not even a squirrelly interruption could throw off Olympic snowboarder Daniela Ulbing of Austria.
—Raisa Bruner, Time, 26 Feb. 2018
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Sean Malin, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024
In a lean-to-the-bone melody filled with squirrelly synths and loping pedal steels, Lightfoot tells a literary tale of the final voyage of a ship in almost sequential detail while rhyming Gitche Gumee more than a few times.
—A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 2 May 2023
Actor Taron Egerton, who nails the squirrelly energy of the real-life Rogers, met him through Zoom calls during the height of the pandemic.
—Gene Park, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2023
Note the squirrelly language.
—Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2021
Mika Brzezinski offered tips on pinning down squirrelly guests.
—Michael M. Grynbaum, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2023
Novak, who spent years refining the squirrelly ticks of his self-regarding salesman Ryan on nine seasons of The Office, isn't a demonstrably different dude here.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 29 July 2022
Maybe it’s the exhausting smarm, the squirrelly ambition, the hollow theatrics.
—Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2021
Not even a squirrelly interruption could throw off Olympic snowboarder Daniela Ulbing of Austria.
—Raisa Bruner, Time, 26 Feb. 2018
Dictionary Entries Near squirrelly
Cite this Entry
“Squirrelly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squirrelly. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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