Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Writhe
Writhe
,Verb.
T.
[
imp.
Writhed
; p. p.
Writhed
, Obs.
or Poetic
Writhen
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Writhing
.] 1.
To twist; to turn; now, usually, to twist or turn so as to distort; to wring.
“With writhing [turning] of a pin.” Chaucer.
Then Satan first knew pain,
And
And
writhed
him to and fro. Milton.
Her mouth she
writhed
, her forehead taught to frown. Dryden.
His battle-
writhen
arms, and mighty hands. Tennyson.
2.
To wrest; to distort; to pervert.
The reason which he yieldeth showeth the least part of his meaning to be that whereunto his words are
writhed
. Hooker.
3.
To extort; to wring; to wrest.
[R.]
The nobility hesitated not to follow the example of their sovereign in
writhing
money from them by every species of oppression. Sir W. Scott.
Writhe
,Verb.
I.
To twist or contort the body; to be distorted;
as, to
. Also used figuratively. writhe
with agonyAfter every attempt, he felt that he had failed, and
writhed
with shame and vexation. Macaulay.
Webster 1828 Edition
Writhe
WRITHE
,Verb.
T.
1.
To twist; to distort.Her mouth she writhd.
2.
To twist with violence; as, to writhe the body.3.
To wrest; to distort; to torture; as, to writhe words.WRITHE
,Verb.
I.
Definition 2024
writhe
writhe
English
Verb
writhe (third-person singular simple present writhes, present participle writhing, simple past and past participle writhed)
- (transitive) To twist, to wring (something).
- (transitive) To contort (a part of the body).
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821, II.17:
- Cicero (as I remember) had gotten a custome to wryth his nose, which signifieth a naturall scoffer.
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821, II.17:
- (intransitive) To twist or contort the body; to be distorted.
- 2011 October 1, Phil McNulty, “Everton 0-2 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:
- 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.
-
Translations
to twist or contort the body
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Noun
writhe (plural writhes)
- (knot theory) The number of negative crossings subtracted from the number of positive crossings in a knot