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definitions

wriest

[ rahy-ist ]
/ ˈraɪ ɪst /
||

adjective

superlative of wry.

RELATED WORDS

droll, sardonic, ironic, mocking, warped, askew, awry, crooked, cynical, deformed, dry, twisted, uneven, aslant, contorted

Nearby words

  1. wretched,
  2. wretchedly,
  3. wrexham,
  4. wrick,
  5. wrier,
  6. wriggle,
  7. wriggler,
  8. wrigglework,
  9. wriggly,
  10. wright

Definition for wriest (2 of 2)

wry

[ rahy ]
/ raɪ /

adjective, wri·er, wri·est.

produced by a distortion or lopsidedness of the facial features: a wry grin.
abnormally bent or turned to one side; twisted; crooked: a wry mouth.
devious in course or purpose; misdirected.
contrary; perverse.
distorted or perverted, as in meaning.
bitterly or disdainfully ironic or amusing: a wry remark.

Origin of wry

1515–25; adj. use of wry to twist, Middle English wryen, Old English wrīgian to go, strive, tend, swerve; cognate with Dutch wrijgen to twist; akin to Old English wrigels, Latin rīcula veil, Greek rhoikós crooked
SYNONYMS FOR wry
2 awry, askew.
ANTONYMS FOR wry
2 straight.
Related formswry·ly, adverbwry·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wriest

  • I confronted death with a smile; I meet life with the wriest of wry faces.

    Simon the Jester|William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for wriest (1 of 2)

wriest

wryest

/ (ˈraɪɪst) /

adjective

the superlative of wry

British Dictionary definitions for wriest (2 of 2)

wry

/ (raɪ) /

adjective wrier, wriest, wryer or wryest

twisted, contorted, or askew
(of a facial expression) produced or characterized by contorting of the features, usually indicating dislike
drily humorous; sardonic
warped, misdirected, or perverse
(of words, thoughts, etc) unsuitable or wrong

verb wries, wrying or wried

(tr) to twist or contort
Derived Formswryly, adverbwryness, noun

Word Origin for wry

C16: from dialect wry to twist, from Old English wrīgian to turn; related to Old Frisian wrīgia to bend, Old Norse riga to move, Middle Low German wrīch bent, stubborn
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

Word Origin and History for wriest

wry

adj.

1520s, "distorted, somewhat twisted," from obsolete verb wry "to contort, to twist or turn," from Old English wrigian "to turn, bend, move, go," from Proto-Germanic *wrig- (cf. Old Frisian wrigia "to bend," Middle Low German wrich "turned, twisted"), from PIE *wreik- "to turn" (cf. Greek rhoikos "crooked," Lithuanian raisas "paralysed"), from root *wer- (3) "to turn, bend" (see versus). Of words, thoughts, etc., from 1590s. The original sense is preserved in awry.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper