squishing

Mashing something soft

Squishing is the act of pressing something soft until it deforms or flattens.

The word captures both the action and often the sound—wet, yielding, satisfying: I love squishing the mud between my toes.

Squishing suggests gentle, playful compression rather than destructive force: She couldn't stop squishing the stress ball.

wet

squelch

Forcibly silence or suppress

oozeSeep gradually out
mudWet soil mixture
sloshLiquid moving messily

splatter · soggy · muck · slime · goo · sludge · marsh · bog · puddle · saturated

compress

squeeze

Firm bilateral compression

flattenMake level or smooth
compactTightly packed together
condenseMake more compact

pressure · press · compress · wedge · cram · stuff · jam · pack · constrict · tighten

crush

smash

Break violently apart

pulverizeCrush to powder
trampleCrush by stepping
stompTread heavily

crunch · splatter · obliterate · demolish · destroy · shatter · crumple · rupture · fragment · splinter

Categories

crushing actionscrushing, flattening, smashing, pressing, stomping
hand actionsgrabbing, grasping, gripping, holding, pinching
sensory playsensory bins, sensory play, water play, sand play, slime

Opposites

physical compression/deformation

squishingexpanding

Growing in scope

inflating · stretching · puffing up · swelling · distending

shape preservation

squishingpreserving

Protecting from deterioration

maintaining · protecting · supporting · cradling · cushioning

force application style

squishingreleasing

Allowing to escape

letting go · loosening · lifting · unburdening

Family

squish, squished, squishes

Familiarity: Top 50,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G