writhe
Look at other dictionaries:
Writhe — Writhe, v. i. To twist or contort the body; to be distorted; as, to writhe with agony. Also used figuratively. [1913 Webster] After every attempt, he felt that he had failed, and writhed with shame and vexation. Macaulay. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
writhe — writhe, agonize, squirm are comparable when they mean to twist or turn in physical or mental distress. Writhe regularly carries vivid suggestions of convulsive contortions (as of one in the throes of death, in a paroxysm, in an instrument of… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
Writhe — Writhe, v. t. [imp. {Writhed}; p. p. {Writhed}, Obs. or Poetic {Writhen}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Writhing}.] [OE. writhen, AS. wr[=i]?an to twist; akin to OHG. r[=i]dan, Icel. r[=i]?a, Sw. vrida, Dan. vride. Cf. {Wreathe}, {Wrest}, {Wroth}.] [1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
writhe — [raıð] v [: Old English; Origin: writhan [i] to twist ] to twist your body from side to side violently, especially because you are suffering pain writhe in pain/agony etc ▪ He lay writhing in pain … Dictionary of contemporary English
writhe — [ raıð ] verb intransitive to move by twisting and turning, especially when you feel a lot of pain: writhe in pain/agony: He writhed in agony on the ground … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
writhe — (v.) O.E. wriðan to twist or bend, earlier to bind or fetter, from P.Gmc. *writhanan (Cf. N.Fris. wrial, O.H.G. ridan, O.N. riða, M.Swed. vriþa, M.Da. vride), from PIE *wreit to turn, bend (see WREATH (Cf. wreath)). Related … Etymology dictionary
writhe — [v] contort; toss back and forth agonize, bend, distort, jerk, recoil, squirm, struggle, suffer, thrash, thresh, twist, wiggle, wince, worm, wriggle; concepts 80,150 Ant. be still … New thesaurus
writhe — ► VERB ▪ twist or squirm in pain or as if in pain. ORIGIN Old English, «make into coils, plait» … English terms dictionary
writhe — [rīth] vt. writhed, writhing [ME writhen < OE writhan, to twist, wind about, akin to ON rītha < IE base * wer , to bend, twist > WREATH, WRY] to cause to twist or turn; contort vi. 1. to make twisting or turning movements; contort the… … English World dictionary
Writhe — In knot theory, the writhe is a property of an oriented link diagram. The writhe is the total number of positive crossings minus the total number of negative crossings .A direction is assigned to the link at a point in each component and this… … Wikipedia
