wreathe

[reeth]

verb (used with object)

wreathed, wreathed , wreathen, wreathing .

1. to encircle or adorn with or as with a wreath.

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

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

4. to envelop.

   a face wreathed in smiles.

verb (used without object)

wreathed, wreathed , wreathen, wreathing .

1. to take the form of a wreath or wreaths.

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

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

3. to move or cause to move in a twisting way

   smoke wreathed up to the ceiling

Other Word Forms

• wreather noun
• interwreathe verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of wreathe¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of wreathe¹

C16: perhaps back formation from wrēthen, from Old English writhen, past participle of wrīthan to _writhe ; see _wreath

Example Sentences

"What we commemorate, what we celebrate, what public displays we make, where we place wreathes – the president does have that ability to signal what he thinks is important," he added.

From BBC

Rescue workers, wreathed in smoke, stood by a pair of excavators digging through a mountain of rubble — the wreckage of an eight-story, 16-apartment building.

From Los Angeles Times

The crosses throughout a bizarre realm wreathed in shadow mark sites where he has shed his corporeal flesh.

From New York Times

At the sound of a gunshot, a performer, wreathed in white silks, tumbles from the ceiling.

From New York Times

The nicotine inside comes wreathed in a “strawberry kiwi” flavor.

From New York Times

Related Words

• braid 
• careen 
• compose 
• construct 
• create 
• entwine 
• fabricate 
• fold 
• fuse 
• incorporate 
• intertwine 
• introduce 
• knit 
• loop 
• mesh 
• sew 
• snake 
• spin 
• splice 
• twist