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)
-
writhed,
past participle, past
-
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
-
had writhedperfect
-
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:
“Oh no. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no,” Peyton Manning said as he watched Dart writhe on the ground while holding his knee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
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
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
The Colombian star put on a spectacular show that saw her dance with knives, writhe in a fake cave and play a fiery guitar solo during Objection Tango.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2023
The letters seemed to writhe and twist on the paper as his hand trailed to a stop.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
“The Gilded Age” embarks on its third season as America writhes in what many believe to be its death throes.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2025
Depp whimpers and writhes with aplomb, but her enthusiastically physical performance never reaches her eyes — unless they’re rolling back in her head.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 24, 2024
He twists and writhes against the police car, at times falling over on his side, as he waits 22 minutes for an ambulance.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 28, 2023
He writhes on the ground before being slumped up against a car, unable to properly sit up himself.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2023
The whale writhes, its fluke beating powerfully against the air as it leaves the water, revealing how completely the squid’s tentacles envelop it, squeezing the whale with life-crushing force.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
When Williams fell to the grass on the run with a noncontact injury on Sunday, the football world feared the worst as he writhed in agony.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 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
Muncy writhed on the ground in obvious pain before being helped to the clubhouse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2025
When the batter was completed it writhed and panted as though animals were squirming and crawling inside it.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
Sixteen hours after Tatum was writhing on the court against the New York Knicks, he was stretched out on O’Malley’s operating table on the West side of Manhattan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
On one run in the third quarter, Hernando barreled to the ground after a 10-yard gain — writhing in pain , forcing an injury timeout.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 29, 2025
Across the globe, Florence is wrenching Freddie from writhing on the floor to buck him up for the imminent match.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 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
A writhing body surfed along the top of the throng up ahead.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
