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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

  1. to make twisting or turning movements; contort the body, as in agony; squirm
  2. to suffer great emotional distress, as from embarrassment or revulsion

noun

a writhing movement; contortion

writhe Related Forms

writh′er noun

writhe Synonyms

writhe

v.

contort, move painfully, squirm, distort, suffer, twist and turn, undergo agony, turn with pain, throw a fit*.

Antonyms rest*, be at ease, move easily.

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.