twinge

American  

[twinj] / twɪndʒ /

noun

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.

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verb (used with object)

twinged, twinging

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

2. to pinch; tweak; twitch.

verb (used without object)

twinged, twinging

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

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verb

1. to have or cause to have a twinge

2. obsolete (tr) to pinch; tweak

Etymology

Origin of twinge

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

Example Sentences

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, intentional or not, contained within his September critique was a twinge of doubt about the viability of a defence-first mantra in the modern age.

From BBC • Jan. 17, 2025

“The real challenge from a public health perspective is, how do you recognize when your little twinge of loneliness, which everyone has from time to time, starts to spiral out of control?”

From Salon • Dec. 6, 2024

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

But she felt a twinge of sympathy for Mia, too, one she hadn’t felt before and had never expected to feel: how excruciating it must have been to think about giving her child away.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Related Words

• ache
• pang
• shiver
• spasm