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Writhe wound its way to us from the Old English verb wrīthan, meaning “to twist,” and that ancestral meaning lives on in the word’s current uses, most of which have to do with twists of one kind or another. Among the oldest of these uses is the meaning “to twist into coils or folds,” but in modern use writhing is more often about the physical contortions of one suffering from debilitating pain or attempting to remove oneself from a tight grasp (as, say, a snake from a hawk’s talons). The word is also not infrequently applied to the twisting bodies of dancers. The closest relation of writhe in modern English lacks any of the painful connotations often present in writhe: wreath comes from Old English writha, which shares an ancestor with wrīthan.
Examples of writhe in a Sentence
Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 14 Apr. 2025
In a remote region of northern Australia, an armless creature writhed deeper into the dirt and pushed itself along with its clawed toes.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 31 Mar. 2025
Many were covered in dust and blood, while others sat in shock, writhing in pain.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025
Benson got up and scored a controversial goal while Wedgewood was writhing in pain on the ice and clutching at his right lower leg.
—Corey Masisak, The Denver Post, 3 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for writhe
Cite this Entry
“Writhe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/writhe. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.
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