wreathe

[ reeth ]
See synonyms for: wreathewreathedwreathing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),wreathed; wreathed or (Archaic) wreath·en; wreath·ing.
  1. to encircle or adorn with or as with a wreath.

  2. to form as a wreath by twisting or twining.

  1. to surround in curving or curling masses or form.

  2. to envelop: a face wreathed in smiles.

verb (used without object),wreathed; wreathed or (Archaic) wreath·en; wreath·ing.
  1. to take the form of a wreath or wreaths.

  2. to move in curving or curling masses, as smoke.

Origin of wreathe

1
1520–30; earlier wrethe, partly v. use of wreath, partly back formation from wrethen, obsolete past participle of writhe

Other words from wreathe

  • wreather, noun
  • in·ter·wreathe, verb, in·ter·wreathed, in·ter·wreath·ing.

Words that may be confused with wreathe

Words Nearby wreathe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use wreathe in a sentence

  • Examples are wreath (with th as in think), but to wreathe (with th as in then); house, but to house (with s pronounced like z).

    Language | Edward Sapir
  • Fifty paces below, a column of opal smoke had begun to wreathe and stretch a languid flag.

  • Taking out a little cigarette case, she lights a cigarette, and watches the puff's of smoke wreathe shout her and die away.

  • Most of such words are verbs, so distinguished from their cognate substantives, as wreathe from wreath.

British Dictionary definitions for wreathe

wreathe

/ (riːð) /


verb
  1. to form into or take the form of a wreath by intertwining or twisting together

  2. (tr) to decorate, crown, or encircle with wreaths

  1. to move or cause to move in a twisting way: smoke wreathed up to the ceiling

Origin of wreathe

1
C16: perhaps back formation from wrēthen, from Old English writhen, past participle of wrīthan to writhe; see wreath

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012