writhe
writhe Lexical Profile
writhe Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To make continual twisting, squirming, or contorted movements of the body, especially as a result of severe pain, struggle, or acute discomfort.
"The injured soccer player began to writhe on the turf while clutching his sprained ankle."
To suffer acute mental distress, mortification, or embarrassment.
"He could only writhe in silent embarrassment as his early mistakes were recounted during the committee meeting."
To twist, contort, or wind a part of the body or an object into coils or folds.
"The tree's ancient roots writhed their way through the narrow crevices of the limestone cliff."
• noun
An act or instance of twisting, squirming, or contorting the body.
"With a sudden writhe of its muscular body, the eel slipped out of the fisherman's grasp and back into the water."
A mathematical and biophysical property of a closed three-dimensional curve, especially supercoiled DNA, measuring the degree to which the curve coils or twists upon itself in space.
"Biophysicists measured the writhe of the circular DNA molecule to understand how supercoiling affects gene transcription."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse the verb 'writhe' (pronounced with a voiced 'th' as in 'breathe', meaning to twist or squirm in pain) with the noun 'wraith' (a ghost or apparition) or 'wreath' (a circular arrangement of flowers or foliage, with which it shares an ancient root).
• Rhymes for writhe
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'wrīthan' (to twist, wind, or contort), ultimately tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*wreit-' (to turn or bend), which also gave rise to 'wreath', 'wrist', and 'wry'.