Thesaurus: writhe

Related headwords

Definitions

1. v. t. To twist; to turn; now, usually, to twist or turn so as to distort; to wring.
2. v. t. To wrest; to distort; to pervert.
3. v. t. To extort; to wring; to wrest.
4. v. i. To twist or contort the body; to be distorted; as, to writhe with agony. Also used figuratively.
5. v. to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling)
6. 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 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. To twist or contort the body; to be distorted; as, to writhe with agony. Also used figuratively. After every attempt, he felt that he had failed, and writhed with shame and vexation. Macaulay.
7. To twist or contort the body; to be distorted; as, to writhewith agony. Also used figuratively.After every attempt, he felt that he had failed, and writhed withshame and vexation. Macaulay.
8. n:5/v:95 v. to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling)