wry

[ rahy ]
See synonyms for wry on Thesaurus.com
adjective,wri·er, wri·est.
  1. bitterly or disdainfully ironic or amusing: a wry remark.

  2. produced by a distortion or lopsidedness of the facial features: a wry grin.

  1. abnormally bent or turned to one side; contorted; crooked: a wry mouth.

  2. devious in course or purpose; misdirected.

  3. distorted or perverted, as in meaning.

Origin of wry

1
First recorded in 1515–25; adjective use of obsolete verb wry “to twist,” Middle English wryen, Old English wrīgian “to go, strive, tend, swerve”; cognate with Dutch wrijgen “to twist”; akin to Old English wrigels, Latin rīcula “veil,” Greek rhoikós “crooked”

Other words for wry

Opposites for wry

Other words from wry

  • wry·ly, adverb
  • wry·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use wry in a sentence

  • There was the smallest possible twist of wryness to the man's lips as he admitted to himself the necessity for the final words.

    The Triumph of John Kars | Ridgwell Cullum

British Dictionary definitions for wry

wry

/ (raɪ) /


adjectivewrier, wriest, wryer or wryest
  1. twisted, contorted, or askew

  2. (of a facial expression) produced or characterized by contorting of the features, usually indicating dislike

  1. drily humorous; sardonic

  2. warped, misdirected, or perverse

  3. (of words, thoughts, etc) unsuitable or wrong

verbwries, wrying or wried
  1. (tr) to twist or contort

Origin of wry

1
C16: from dialect wry to twist, from Old English wrīgian to turn; related to Old Frisian wrīgia to bend, Old Norse riga to move, Middle Low German wrīch bent, stubborn

Derived forms of wry

  • wryly, adverb
  • wryness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012