writhe - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

writhe

Audio Help [rahyth] Pronunciation Key verb, writhed, writh·ing, noun

–verb (used without object)

1.	to twist the body about, or squirm, as in pain, violent effort, etc.

2.	to shrink mentally, as in acute discomfort.

–verb (used with object)

3.	to twist or bend out of shape or position; distort; contort.

4.	to twist (oneself, the body, etc.) about, as in pain.

–noun

5.	a writhing movement; a twisting of the body, as in pain.

[Origin: bef. 900; ME writhen (v.), OE wrīthan to twist, wind; c. ON rītha to knit, twist; akin to wreath, wry

]

—Related forms

writher, noun

writh·ing·ly, adverb

—Synonyms 1. thresh, flail, contort, wriggle.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
writhe

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

writhe Audio Help   (rīth) Pronunciation Key
v.   writhed, writh·ing, writhes

v.   intr.

To twist, as in pain, struggle, or embarrassment.
To move with a twisting or contorted motion.
To suffer acutely.

v. tr.
To cause to twist or squirm; contort.

n. The act or an instance of writhing; a contortion.

[Middle English writhen, from Old English wrīthan; see wer-² in Indo-European roots.]

writh'er n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
writhe

O.E. wriðan "to twist or bend," earlier "to bind or fetter," from P.Gmc. *writhanan (cf. N.Fris. wrial, O.H.G. ridan, O.N. riða, M.Swed. vriþa, M.Da. vride), from PIE *wreit- "to turn, bend" (see wreath).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

writhe
verb
to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling); "The prisoner writhed in discomfort"; "The child tried to wriggle free from his aunt's embrace"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
writhe [raið] verb

to twist violently to and fro, especially in pain or discomfort
Example: to writhe in agony; She writhed about when I tickled her.

Arabic:	يَتَلَوّى
Chinese (Simplified):	扭动（身体）
Chinese (Traditional):	扭動(身體)
Czech:	svíjet se
Danish:	vride sig
Dutch:	kronkelen
Estonian:	väänlema
Finnish:	vääntelehtiä
French:	(se) tordre
German:	sich krümmen
Greek:	σφαδάζω, σπαρταρώ
Hungarian:	vonaglik
Icelandic:	engjast um
Indonesian:	menggeliat-geliat
Italian:	torcersi, contorcersi

Japanese:	身もだえする
Korean:	몸부림치다, 몸을 뒤틀다
Latvian:	locīties (sāpēs); mētāties
Lithuanian:	raitytis
Norwegian:	vri seg, sno seg
Polish:	wić się
Portuguese (Brazil):	contorcer-se
Portuguese (Portugal):	contorcer-se
Romanian:	a se zvârcoli
Russian:	извиваться
Slovak:	zvíjať sa
Slovenian:	zvijati se
Spanish:	retorcerse
Swedish:	vrida sig
Turkish:	kıvranmak

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Writhe

Wreath\ (?; 277), n.; pl. Wreaths. [OE. wrethe, AS. wr[=ae][eth] a twisted band, fr. wr[=i][eth]an to twist. See Writhe.]

1. Something twisted, intertwined, or curled; as, a wreath of smoke; a wreath of flowers. "A wrethe of gold." --Chaucer.

[He] of his tortuous train Curled many a wanton wreath. --Milton.

2. A garland; a chaplet, esp. one given to a victor.

Conquest doth grant He dear wreath to the Grecian combatant. --Chapman.

Far back in the ages, The plow with wreaths was crowned. --Bryant.

3. (Her.) An appendage to the shield, placed above it, and supporting the crest (see Illust. of Crest). It generally represents a twist of two cords of silk, one tinctured like the principal metal, the other like the principal color in the arms.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Writhe

Wrest\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wrested; p. pr. & vb. n. Wresting.] [OE. wresten, AS. wr?stan; akin to wr?? a twisted band, and wr[=i]?n to twist. See Writhe.]

1. To turn; to twist; esp., to twist or extort by violence; to pull of force away by, or as if by, violent wringing or twisting. "The secret wrested from me." --Milton.

Our country's cause, That drew our swords, now secret wrests them from our hand. --Addison.

They instantly wrested the government out of the hands of Hastings. --Macaulay.

2. To turn from truth; to twist from its natural or proper use or meaning by violence; to pervert; to distort.

Wrest once the law to your authority. --Shak.

Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor. --Ex. xxiii. 6.

Their arts of wresting, corrupting, and false interpreting the holy text. --South.

3. To tune with a wrest, or key. [Obs.]

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