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wry

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wry

  [rahy]
Use wry in a Sentence
–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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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wry   (rī)   
adj.   wri·er (rī'ər) or wry·er, wri·est (rī'ĭst) or wry·est

  1. Dryly humorous, often with a touch of irony.

  2. Temporarily twisted in an expression of distaste or displeasure: made a wry face.

  3. Abnormally twisted or bent to one side; crooked: a wry nose.

  4. Being at variance with what is right, proper, or suitable; perverse.


[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 © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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
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