writhe Definition
writhe (rīt̸h)
transitive verb writhed, writh′·ing
to cause to twist or turn; contort
Etymology: ME writhen < OE writhan, to twist, wind about, akin to ON rītha < IE base *wer-, to bend, twist > wreath, wry
intransitive verb
- to make twisting or turning movements; contort the body, as in agony; squirm
- to suffer great emotional distress, as from embarrassment or revulsion
noun
a writhing movement; contortion
writhe Related Forms
writhe Synonyms
writhe
v.
writhe Usage Examples
Object
- snake: It seemed to Norman, for an instant, that her hair was filled with writhing snakes.
- mass: Here the crowd was only one or two deep rather than a writhing mass.
- movement: They can also cause involuntary twisting or writhing movements of the limbs or face called dyskinesias.
- body: On the road in front of me was the writhing body of dying snake.
- maggot: We saw a large bin filled with rotting dead piglets amid a sea of writhing maggots.
- form: For long minutes, moans issued from the writhing forms until all sound and movement ceased.
Preposition: on
- floor: Rhiannon arrives in time to see Damian writhing on the floor in agony.
- ground: Many were killed instantly, others lay writhing on the ground screaming in agony from the intolerable pain of their burns.
Converse of object
make: Another vast concussion made the ground writhe under the flying feet of his mount.
Modifying Another Word
- about: When my partner moves it in and out too I writhe about in ecstasy!
- not: Like the panel he'd accessed it was one of the few areas not writhing with fibre-optics or power cabling.
- wildly: Perched high upon a tower, a long-haired woman writhed wildly, bare feet waving.
- all: There was glass from broken bottles everywhere and of course the shower pipe went berserk and writhed all over the place.
- sinuously: It liked the feel of Fred as he sinuously writhed on top of it, and sabotaged Shaggy's vocal chords.
Followed by an intransitive particle
around: Angela is frequently naked, writhing around in a weak, pathetic state.
Followed by a transitive particle
around: And she's also used to writhing around the stage, so she should be a natural when it comes to pole-dancing.
Preposition: in
- agony: Around the edges of the picture people writhed in agony, the flames melting their skin, the smoke filling their lungs.
- pain: The man writhed in pain, yet his hold on her did not lessen.
- anguish: My companion, a devotee of the baroque and classical idioms, writhed in anguish throughout this feast of late- and post-romantic chromaticism.
- hell: His congregation in Norwich held him in reverence and love; but his Calvinist opponents pictured him writhing in hell.
Browse dictionary entries near writhe
- ‹ writerly
- ‹ writer's cramp
- ‹ writer's block
- ‹ writer
- ‹ write-up
- ‹ write-off
- ‹ write-in
- ‹ write-down
- ‹ write
- ‹ writ, peremptory
- writhen ›
- writhing ›
- writing ›
- writing desk ›
- written ›
- written instrument ›
- wrnt ›
- Wrocław ›
- wrong ›
- wrong-foot ›

