vermiculation.

1. Movement that winds, crawls, or writhes in a wormlike manner.

2. A pattern of winding or wormlike lines or grooves.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a slow vermiculation
• vermiculation beneath the surface

On the page

A slow vermiculation traveled beneath the membrane.

The observer described vermiculation without claiming there were worms inside.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror. Forms: Usually uncountable; plural vermiculations for separate movements or patterns. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.