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Webster 1913 Edition


Wring

Wring

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Wrung
,
Obs.
Wringed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Wringing
.]
[OE.
wringen
, AS.
wringan
; akin to LG. & D.
wringen
, OHG.
ringan
to struggle, G.
ringen
, Sw.
vränga
to distort, Dan.
vringle
to twist. Cf.
Wrangle
,
Wrench
,
Wrong
.]
1.
To twist and compress; to turn and strain with violence; to writhe; to squeeze hard; to pinch;
as, to
wring
clothes in washing
.
“Earnestly wringing Waverley’s hand.”
Sir W. Scott.
Wring him by the nose.”
Shak.
[His steed] so sweat that men might him
wring
.
Chaucer.
The king began to find where his shoe did
wring
him.
Bacon.
The priest shall bring it [a dove] unto the altar, and
wring
off his head.
Lev. i. 15.
2.
Hence, to pain; to distress; to torment; to torture.
Too much grieved and
wrung
by an uneasy and strait fortune.
Clarendon.
Didst thou taste but half the griefs
That
wring
my soul, thou couldst not talk thus coldly.
Addison.
3.
To distort; to pervert; to wrest.
How dare men thus
wring
the Scriptures?
Whitgift.
4.
To extract or obtain by twisting and compressing; to squeeze or press (out); hence, to extort; to draw forth by violence, or against resistance or repugnance; – usually with out or form.
Your overkindness doth
wring
tears from me.
Shakespeare
He rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and
wringed
the dew out of the fleece.
Judg. vi. 38.
5.
To subject to extortion; to afflict, or oppress, in order to enforce compliance.
To
wring
the widow from her 'customed right.
Shakespeare
The merchant adventures have been often wronged and
wringed
to the quick.
Hayward.
6.
(Naut.)
To bend or strain out of its position;
as, to
wring
a mast
.

Wring

,
Verb.
I.
To writhe; to twist, as with anguish.
'T is all men's office to speak patience
To those that
wring
under the load of sorrow.
Shakespeare
Look where the sister of the king of France
Sits
wringing
of her hands, and beats her breast.
Marlowe.

Wring

,
Noun.
A writhing, as in anguish; a twisting; a griping.
[Obs.]
Bp. Hall.

Webster 1828 Edition


Wring

WRING

,
Verb.
T.
pret. and pp. wringed and wrung. The latter is chiefly used.
1.
To twist; to turn and strain with violence; as, to wring clothes in washing.
2.
To squeeze; to press; to force by twisting; as, to wring water out of a wet garment.
3.
To writhe; as, to wring the body in pain.
4.
TO pinch.
The king began to find where his shoe did wring him.
If he had not been too much grieved and wrung by an uneasy and strait fortune--
5.
To distress; to press with pain.
Didst thou taste but half the griefs, that wring my soul, thou couldst not talk thus coldly.
6.
To distort; to pervert.
How dare these men thus wring the Scriptures?
7.
To persecute with extortion.
These merchant adventurers have been often wronged and wringed to the quick.
8.
To bend or strain out of its positions, as, to wring a mast.
To wring off, to force off or separate by wringing; as, to wring off the head of a fowl.
To wring out,
1.
To force out; to squeeze out by twisting; as, to wring out dew or water. Judges 6.
2.
To free from a liquor by wringing; as, to wring out clothes.
To wring from, to force from by violence; to extort; as revenues wrung from the poor; to wring from one his rights; to wring a secret from one.

WRING

,
Verb.
I.
To writhe; to twist; as with anguish.

WRING

,
Noun.
Action of anguish.

Definition 2024


wring

wring

English

Verb

wring (third-person singular simple present wrings, present participle wringing, simple past wrang or wrung or (obsolete) wringed, past participle wrung or (obsolete) wringed)

  1. To squeeze or twist tightly so that liquid is forced out.
    You must wring your wet jeans before hanging them out to dry.
    • Bible, Judg. vi. 38
      He rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece.
    • Shakespeare
      Your overkindness doth wring tears from me.
  2. To obtain by force.
    The police said they would wring the truth out of that heinous criminal.
  3. To hold tightly and press or twist.
    Some of the patients waiting in the dentist's office were wringing their hands nervously.
    He said he'd wring my neck if I told his girlfriend.
    He wrung my hand enthusiastically when he found out we were related.
    • Francis Bacon
      The king began to find where his shoe did wring him.
    • Bible, Leviticus i. 15
      The priest shall bring it [a dove] unto the altar, and wring off his head
  4. (intransitive) To writhe; to twist, as if in anguish.
  5. To kill an animal, usually poultry, by breaking its neck by twisting.
    • Shakespeare
      'Tis all men's office to speak patience / To those that wring under the load of sorrow.
  6. To pain; to distress; to torment; to torture.
    • Clarendon
      Too much grieved and wrung by an uneasy and strait fortune.
    • Addison
      Didst thou taste but half the griefs / That wring my soul, thou couldst not talk thus coldly.
  7. To distort; to pervert; to wrest.
    • Whitgift
      How dare men thus wring the Scriptures?
  8. To subject to extortion; to afflict, or oppress, in order to enforce compliance.
    • Shakespeare
      To wring the widow from her 'customed right.
    • Hayward
      The merchant adventurers have been often wronged and wringed to the quick.
  9. (nautical) To bend or strain out of its position.
    to wring a mast

Translations

Noun

wring (plural wrings)

  1. A powerful squeezing or twisting action.
    I grasped his hand and gave it a grateful wring.

References

  • wring in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • wring in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

wring

  1. first-person singular present indicative of wringen
  2. imperative of wringen