wry
Audio Help [rahy] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [rahy] Pronunciation Key –adjective, wri·er, wri·est.
| 1. | produced by a distortion or lopsidedness of the facial features: a wry grin. |
| 2. | abnormally bent or turned to one side; twisted; crooked: a wry mouth. |
| 3. | devious in course or purpose; misdirected. |
| 4. | contrary; perverse. |
| 5. | distorted or perverted, as in meaning. |
| 6. | bitterly or disdainfully ironic or amusing: a wry remark. |
[Origin: 1515–25; adj. use of wry to twist, ME wryen, OE wrīgian to go, strive, tend, swerve; c. D wrijgen to twist; akin to OE wrigels, L rīcula veil, Gk rhoikós crooked
]
] —Related forms
wryly, adverb
wryness, noun
—Synonyms 2. awry, askew.
—Antonyms 2. straight.
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
wry
To learn more about wry visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| wry
Audio Help (rī) Pronunciation Key
adj. wri·er (rī'ər) or wry·er, wri·est (rī'ĭst) or wry·est
[From Middle English wrien, to turn, from Old English wrīgian; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.] wry'ly adv., wry'ness n. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
wry (adj.)
1523, "distorted, somewhat twisted," from obs. verb wry "to contort, to twist or turn," from O.E. wrigian "to turn, bend, move, go," from P.Gmc. *wrig- (cf. O.Fris. wrigia "to bend," M.L.G. wrich "turned, twisted"), from PIE *wreik- "to turn" (cf. Gk. rhoikos "crooked," Lith. raisas "paralysed"), from base *wer- "to turn, bend" (see versus). Of words, thoughts, etc., from 1599. The original sense is in awry.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| wry | |
adjective | |
| 1. | humorously sarcastic or mocking; "dry humor"; "an ironic remark often conveys an intended meaning obliquely"; "an ironic novel"; "an ironical smile"; "with a wry Scottish wit" [syn: dry] |
| 2. | bent to one side; "a wry neck" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
wry [rai] adjective
slightly mocking
Example: a wry smile
Example: a wry smile
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
Wry
Wrie\, a. & v. See Wry. [Obs.] --Chaucer.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Wry
Wry\, v. t. [AS. wre['o]n.] To cover. [Obs.] Wrie you in that mantle. --Chaucer.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Wry
Wry\, a. [Compar. Wrier; superl. Wriest.] [Akin to OE. wrien to twist, to bend, AS. wrigian to tend towards, to drive.]1. Turned to one side; twisted; distorted; as, a wry mouth. 2. Hence, deviating from the right direction; misdirected; out of place; as, wry words. Not according to the wry rigor of our neighbors, who never take up an old idea without some extravagance in its application. --Landor. 3. Wrested; perverted. He . . . puts a wry sense upon Protestant writers. --Atterbury. Wry face, a distortion of the countenance indicating impatience, disgust, or discomfort; a grimace.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Wry
Wry\, v. i. 1. To twist; to writhe; to bend or wind. 2. To deviate from the right way; to go away or astray; to turn side; to swerve. This Phebus gan awayward for to wryen. --Chaucer. How many Must murder wives much better than themselves For wrying but a little! --Shak.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
WRY
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