WRITHING

wiggly, wriggling, wriggly, writhing

(adjective) moving in a twisting or snake-like or wormlike fashion; “wiggly worms”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

writhing (comparative more writhing, superlative most writhing)

Bended in twisting struggle.

Verb

writhing

present participle of writhe

Noun

writhing (plural writhings)

A twisting struggle.

Source: Wiktionary


WRITHE

Writhe, v. t. [imp. Writhed; p. p. Writhed, Obs. or Poetic Writhen (; p. pr. & vb. n. Writhing.] Etym: [OE. writhen, AS. wri to twist; akin to OHG. ridan, Icel. ri, Sw. vrida, Dan. vride. Cf. Wreathe, Wrest, Wroth.]

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.

Writhe, v. i.

Definition: 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

14 June 2025

FELLOW

(noun) a member of a learned society; “he was elected a fellow of the American Physiological Association”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.

coffee icon