Writhe word meaning and definition

[verb] to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (esp. when struggling); "The prisoner writhed in discomfort."; "The child tried to wriggle free from his aunt's embrace."

\Writhe\, v. t. [imp. {Writhed}; p. p. {Writhed}, Obs. or Poetic {Writhen}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Writhing}.] [OE. writhen, AS. wr[=i]?an to twist; akin to OHG. r[=i]dan, Icel. r[=i]?a, Sw. vrida, Dan. vride. Cf. {Wreathe}, {Wrest}, {Wroth}.] 1. To twist; to turn; now, usually, to twist or turn so as to distort; to wring. ``With writhing [turning] of a pin.'' --Chaucer. Then Satan first knew pain, And writhed him to and fro. --Milton. Her mouth she writhed, her forehead taught to frown. --Dryden. His battle-writhen arms, and mighty hands. --Tennyson. 2. To wrest; to distort; to pervert. The reason which he yieldeth showeth the least part of his meaning to be that whereunto his words are writhed. --Hooker. 3. To extort; to wring; to wrest. [R.] The nobility hesitated not to follow the example of their sovereign in writhing money from them by every species of oppression. --Sir W. Scott.
\Writhe\, v. i. To twist or contort the body; to be distorted; as, to writhe with agony. Also used figuratively. After every attempt, he felt that he had failed, and writhed with shame and vexation. --Macaulay.

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