writhe — to twist and turn in a way that shows you are suffering pain
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: to twist and turn in a way that shows you are suffering pain
Pronunciation (IPA): /raɪð/
Example Sentences
- Tom writhed in embarrassment when his mom showed baby photos to his girlfriend.
- The snake writhed as it tried to escape from the cage.
- She writhed with laughter at his terrible dad jokes.
writhe
VERB[/raɪð/]
to twist and turn in a way that shows you are suffering pain
Falling hard on the grass, the injured soccer player began to writhe in intense physical pain.
WRIT(write) + HE(he) — trying to WRIT(write) his final letter, HE(he) fell to the floor and began to writhe from the poison.
Dropping his sharp scythe, the careless farmer fell into the dirt to writhe in terrible pain.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
Writhe derives from Old English 'wrīthan', meaning 'to twist' or 'to turn'. The word comes from a Common Germanic root and originally described physical twisting motions, later evolving to encompass the sense of contorting one's body in pain or agony.
Breakdown
The word comes from the Old English root 'wrīthan' (to twist, turn), with no distinct prefix or suffix. The modern English form retains the core meaning of the Germanic root with minimal morphological change.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“Tom writhed in embarrassment when his mom showed baby photos to his girlfriend.”
“The snake writhed as it tried to escape from the cage.”
“She writhed with laughter at his terrible dad jokes.”
“The injured footballer writhed on the pitch after the tackle.”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
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