Writhe

/ɹaɪð/ · verb

Meaning

(transitive) To twist, wring (something)..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To twist, wring (something).
2. (transitive) To contort (a part of the body).
3. (intransitive) To twist bodily; to contort one's self; to be distorted.
4. (transitive) To extort.
5. (rare) A contortion.
6. (knot theory) The number of negative crossings subtracted from the number of positive crossings in a knot

Example Sentences

Cicero (as I remember) had gotten a custome to wryth his nose, which signifieth a naturall scoffer.

She twisted her hands behind her; but all the knots held good! / She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood! / They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years, / Till, now, on the stroke of midnight, / Cold, on the stroke of midnight, / The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!

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.

Synonyms for writhe

Antonyms for writhe

Related Words

Word Forms

• writhes
• writhing
• writhed
• wrothe
• writhen

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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