Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Writhe

Writhe

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp.
Writhed
;
p. p.
Writhed
,
Obs.
or
Poetic
Writhen
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Writhing
.]
[OE.
writhen
, AS.
wrī[GREEK]an
to twist; akin to OHG.
rīdan
, Icel.
rī[GREEK]a
, Sw.
vrida
, Dan.
vride
. Cf.
Wreathe
,
Wrest
,
Wroth
.]
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
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
writhe
with agony
. Also used figuratively.
After 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.
To twist; to be distorted; as, to writhe with agony.

Definition 2024


writhe

writhe

English

Verb

writhe (third-person singular simple present writhes, present participle writhing, simple past and past participle writhed)

  1. (transitive) To twist, to wring (something).
  2. (transitive) To contort (a part of the body).
  3. (intransitive) To twist or contort the body; to be distorted.
    • 2011 October 1, Phil McNulty, Everton 0-2 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:
      The game was engulfed in controversy when Rodwell appeared to win the ball cleanly in a midfield challenge with Suarez. The tackle drew an angry response from Liverpool's players- Lucas in particular as Suarez writhed in agony - but it was an obvious injustice when the England Under-21 midfielder was shown the red card.

Translations

Noun

writhe (plural writhes)

  1. (knot theory) The number of negative crossings subtracted from the number of positive crossings in a knot

Anagrams