twinge

American  

[twinj] / twɪndʒ /

noun

• twinges
  plural

1. a sudden, sharp pain.

   On damp days, he's often bothered by a twinge of rheumatism.

   Synonyms:

   stab, pang, cramp, spasm

2. a mental or emotional pang.

   a twinge of guilt; twinges of sorrow.

---

verb (used with object)

• twinges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• twinged,
  past participle,  past
• twinging
  present participle

1. to affect (the body or mind) with a sudden, sharp pain or pang.

2. to pinch; tweak; twitch.

verb (used without object)

• twinges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• twinged,
  past participle,  past
• twinging
  present participle

1. to have or feel a sudden, sharp pain.

twinge British  

/ twɪndʒ /

noun

1. a sudden brief darting or stabbing pain

2. a sharp emotional pang

   a twinge of guilt

---

verb

1. to have or cause to have a twinge

2. obsolete (tr) to pinch; tweak

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• twinges
  plural

Participles

• twinging
  present
• twinged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• twinge
  simple
• twinges
  simple
• have twinged
  perfect
• has twinged
  perfect
• am twinging
  progressive
• are twinging
  progressive
• is twinging
  progressive
• have been twinging
  perfect progressive
• has been twinging
  perfect progressive

Past

• twinged
  simple
• had twinged
  perfect
• was twinging
  progressive
• were twinging
  progressive
• had been twinging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will twinge
  simple
• will have twinged
  perfect
• will be twinging
  progressive
• will have been twinging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of twinge

before 1000; Middle English twengen to pinch, Old English twengan

Explanation

A twinge is a sting or pang of pain that happens suddenly. Are you recovering from a basketball injury? You may still feel a twinge of discomfort in your knee when you do a layup. You can experience a physically painful twinge, but there are also twinges that are more emotional, like the twinge of sadness you feel when you look at photos of your old house. Use this word as a verb, too, if you like: "Did your shoulders twinge when you gave your little brother a piggyback ride?" Long ago, to twinge meant to pinch, and the word's origin traces back to the Old English twengan, "to pinch."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

twinge twinges twinged twinging

BBC's commentary team later received a message from Hodgkinson's coach Jenny Meadows, saying she withdrew as she "felt a little twinge in her last strides before the race".

From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026

Looking over the constant turmoil that Patel has created around himself, it’s hard to not feel a twinge of sympathy.

From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026

When we are out of sync, he says, we experience it as a kind of judder or twinge of social discomfort which “is your brain working a little harder to fix predictions that are wrong.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026

But I also found comfort in the idea that it was a possibility—and a twinge of anger toward the many gynecologists I had seen who had never mentioned it as one.

From Slate ● Aug. 23, 2024

“I suppose so,” Sticky said doubtfully, with a twinge of worry in his voice, “but what if there’s someone outside? I can’t keep an eye out from over by the light switch.”

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

Another factor creating twinges of anxiety in markets has been the recent upward pressure in short-term funding markets, especially as they reared up at the end of October.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2025

He said he had twinges in his ribs and back for a year and a half before his diagnosis, but initially put them down to playing a lot of golf.

From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2025

“Now, whenever they experience the common aches, pains and twinges of life, they wonder if it is because they have this ‘disease,’” Dr. Redberg said.

From New York Times ● May 30, 2023

Silver’s twinges of disappointment whenever Pumpkin rejects her help give us a sense of the sadness that Corn detected in her when he first admired her walk.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2021

Sympathy for them twinges through me—I ain't seen a sight like this in a while.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

That day Eoin Morgan went in the back, Jason Roy twinged a hamstring, Chris Woakes batted at number three and England still won by eight wickets with 16.5 overs to spare.

From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2025

Intertwined within this main plot, and equally intriguing, are a pair of narratives twinged in history.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 13, 2023

One second, Hill is schooling the listeners on why Black people "always be the ones to settle" in a religiously twinged "Forgive Them Father" or criticizing the counterfeit encrusted shine attached to fame in "Superstar."

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2023

They also predicted that Balto would have had a double layer of black fur twinged with tan; modern sled dogs tend to have just a single layer.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 26, 2023

Heaving, breathing in and out, each breath twinged with a high-pitched wheeze.

From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles

But I am like an old soldier whose wound, twinging with rheumatism, announces the approach of damp weather.

From A Splendid Hazard by Harold MacGrath

The weak and exquisite sweetness of her smile, as she lay in bed under the stress of twinging pain amid hot-water bottles, was amazing to Sophia.

From The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett

Thai forcome me in daie of twinging, And made es Layered mi forhiling.

From English Dialects From the Eighth Century to the Present Day by Walter W. (Walter William) Skeat

They both got up and looked at a couple of the hornets twinging on the ground as they died.

From Scorched Earth by Walter D. Petrovic

Later, when gout got to twinging him, he contented himself with cards and cronies.

From Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 12 Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Scientists by Elbert Hubbard

Related Words

• ache
• pang
• shiver
• spasm