Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Writhe
Writhe
,Verb.
T.
[
imp.
Writhed
; p. p.
Writhed
, Obs.
or Poetic
Writhen
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Writhing
.] 1.
To twist; to turn; now, usually, to twist or turn so as to distort; to wring.
“With writhing [turning] of a pin.” Chaucer.
Then Satan first knew pain,
And
And
writhed
him to and fro. Milton.
Her mouth she
writhed
, her forehead taught to frown. Dryden.
His battle-
writhen
arms, and mighty hands. Tennyson.
2.
To wrest; to distort; to pervert.
The reason which he yieldeth showeth the least part of his meaning to be that whereunto his words are
writhed
. Hooker.
3.
To extort; to wring; to wrest.
[R.]
The nobility hesitated not to follow the example of their sovereign in
writhing
money from them by every species of oppression. Sir W. Scott.
Writhe
,Verb.
I.
To twist or contort the body; to be distorted;
as, to
. Also used figuratively. writhe
with agonyAfter every attempt, he felt that he had failed, and
writhed
with shame and vexation. Macaulay.
Webster 1828 Edition
Writhe
WRITHE
,Verb.
T.
1.
To twist; to distort.Her mouth she writhd.
2.
To twist with violence; as, to writhe the body.3.
To wrest; to distort; to torture; as, to writhe words.WRITHE
,Verb.
I.