WRY
dry, ironic, ironical, wry
(adjective) humorously sarcastic or mocking; “dry humor”; “an ironic remark often conveys an intended meaning obliquely”; “an ironic novel”; “an ironical smile”; “with a wry Scottish wit”
wry
(adjective) bent to one side; “a wry neck”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Adjective
wry (comparative wrier or wryer, superlative wriest)
Turned away, contorted (of the face or body).
Dryly humorous; sardonic or bitterly ironic.
Twisted, bent, crooked.
Deviating from the right direction; misdirected; out of place.
Verb
wry (third-person singular simple present wries, present participle wrying, simple past and past participle wried)
(obsolete, intransitive) To turn (away); to swerve or deviate.
(obsolete, transitive) To divert; to cause to turn away.
(transitive) To twist or contort (the body, face, etc.).
Noun
wry
(regional) Distortion.
Etymology 2
Verb
wry (third-person singular simple present wries, present participle wrying, simple past and past participle wried)
(transitive, obsolete) To cover; clothe; cover up; cloak; hide.
Source: Wiktionary
Wry, v. t. Etym: [AS. wreĂłn.]
Definition: To cover. [Obs.] Wrie you in that mantle. Chaucer.
Wry, a. [Compar. Wrier; superl. Wriest.] Etym: [Akin to OE. wrien to twist, to bend, AS. wrigian to tend towards, to drive.]
1. Turned to one side; twisted; distorted; as, a wry mouth.
2. Hence, deviating from the right direction; misdirected; out of place; as, wry words. Not according to the wry rigor of our neighbors, who never take up an old idea without some extravagance in its application. Landor.
3. Wrested; perverted. He . . . puts a wry sense upon Protestant writers. Atterbury. Wry face, a distortion of the countenance indicating impatience, disgust, or discomfort; a grimace.
Wry, v. i.
1. To twist; to writhe; to bend or wind.
2. To deviate from the right way; to go away or astray; to turn side; to swerve. This Phebus gan awayward for to wryen. Chaucer. How many Must murder wives much better than themselves For wrying but a little! Shak.
Wry, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wried; p. pr. & vb. n. Wrying.] Etym: [OE. wrien. See Wry, a.]
Definition: To twist; to distort; to writhe; to wrest; to vex. Sir P. Sidney. Guests by hundreds, not one caring If the dear host's neck were wried. R. Browning.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
23 January 2025
LEFT
(adjective) being or located on or directed toward the side of the body to the west when facing north; “my left hand”; “left center field”; “the left bank of a river is bank on your left side when you are facing downstream”
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