writhe
Americanverb (used without object)
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writhes,
present (3rd person singular)
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writhed,
past participle, past
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writhing
present participle
verb (used with object)
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writhes,
present (3rd person singular)
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writhed,
past participle, past
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writhing
present participle
noun
verb
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to twist or squirm in or as if in pain
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(intr) to move with such motions
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(intr) to suffer acutely from embarrassment, revulsion, etc
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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writhesimple
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writhessimple
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have writhedperfect
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has writhedperfect
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am writhingprogressive
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are writhingprogressive
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is writhingprogressive
-
have been writhingperfect progressive
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has been writhingperfect progressive
Past
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writhedsimple
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had writhedperfect
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was writhingprogressive
-
were writhingprogressive
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had been writhingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of writhe
First recorded before 900; Middle English writhen (verb), Old English wrīthan “to twist, wind”; cognate with Old Norse rītha “to knit, twist”; akin to wreath, wry
Explanation
To writhe is to squirm and twist. Often you'll see the phrase "to writhe in agony." Writhe when you've just ingested some stomach-wrenching poison, or perhaps in response to red ant stings. Writhe stems from the Old English, meaning "to twist or bend." It's not a coincidence that a Christmas wreath is greenery twisted and bent into a circle. A person can writhe in embarrassment but it's usually reserved for times when pain or discomfort cause you to twist and bend over and squirm because your body is in such distress.
Vocabulary lists containing writhe
List 8
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"Of Mice and Men"
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Inside Out & Back Again
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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.
See Examples For:
Instead, they take turns to silently perform a series of moves and poses that look, to the untrained eye, as if they are playing charades or, as they writhe on the ground, breakdancing.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
But if you’ve put decades into watching this band, you deserve to see what this incarnation can wrench and writhe into.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026
When athletes tear ACLs in other sports, crowds are used to watching them writhe on the ground in agony.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
Smith began to shake and writhe violently, in thrashing spasms and seizure-like movements, at about 7:58 p.m.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 26, 2024
So each night, the Count’s discomforts, which made Westley writhe and twist, were really sort of all right.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
Through a hole in the circular set, an elevator rises with various set pieces, and most notably, the hospital bed on which Prior writhes in agony, and where he’s nursed by Justin Weaks’s marvelous Belize.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 2, 2023
Mr. Nichols moans and writhes on the ground.
From New York Times ● Jan. 29, 2023
He writhes on the ground before being slumped up against a car, unable to properly sit up himself.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2023
All kinds of pestilence writhes within raw turkey meat, and safe preparation isn't just a good idea — it's a must to keep everyone at the Thanksgiving table safe.
From Salon ● Nov. 23, 2022
Jacob writhes in the dirt, trying to get some air into his lungs, squirming like a fish in a boat.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
It came, it saw, it occasionally flopped and writhed on the grass, but it truly conquered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
His fevers were so bad that he insisted on sleeping in the rain, and he writhed in pain "like he'd been thrown in hot oil", says his mother, Sughra.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
"It's all of ours first day," said a curator, re-assembling the artwork as it writhed.
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
But after the play, Davis fell to the court and writhed in pain, holding his face.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2024
One of the ropes writhed uneasily, and suddenly Lenina saw that they were snakes.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Late last month, an Indonesia-based wildlife foundation shared footage showing an orangutan writhing on the ground on a palm oil plantation in West Kalimantan, one of Indonesia's hardest-hit provinces.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
There is no escape: Garbagemen find them in their shoes at night; or writhing in their arm hair; or embedded in their scalps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
As soon as Mahomes was left writhing on the ground and grabbing his knee late in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, it was clear he had sustained a serious injury.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 15, 2025
The ghost of Gaga past re-emerges for Perfect Celebrity, writhing with camp energy in a shallow grave as she sings about the pressure and torture of stardom.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2025
She lifted his writhing, shouting body off the ground, but he was wild, strong, all clenched muscles, and hard to hold.
From "Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
