Synonyms

wreathe

American

[reeth] / rið /

verb (used with object)

to encircle or adorn with or as with a wreath.
to form as a wreath by twisting or twining.
to surround in curving or curling masses or form.
to envelop.

a face wreathed in smiles.

verb (used without object)

to take the form of a wreath or wreaths.
to move in curving or curling masses, as smoke.

wreathe British

/ riːð /

verb

to form into or take the form of a wreath by intertwining or twisting together
(tr) to decorate, crown, or encircle with wreaths
to move or cause to move in a twisting way

smoke wreathed up to the ceiling

"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

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Present

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Etymology

Origin of wreathe

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

Vocabulary lists containing wreathe

"The Love Song J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Wreathe in a garland the corn's golden ear!

From The Poems of Schiller — Third period by Schiller, Friedrich

Wreathe, waxen arms, and lure him in, to me!

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 93, September 24, 1887 by Burnand, F. C. (Francis Cowley), Sir

Alfred Austin Biggs, of Texas, voiced the same idea when he said: “‘Crown me not with spinach, Wreathe me not with hay; Place no salad on my head When you bring the bay.

From The Genial Idiot His Views and Reviews by Bangs, John Kendrick

Wreathe with flowers the weighty yoke Might of mortal never broke!

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 10, No. 57, July, 1862 by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023