writhe Meaning, Definition & Usage

verb to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling)
twist; wrestle; worm; wriggle; squirm.
- The prisoner writhed in discomfort
- The child tried to wriggle free from his aunt's embrace

OE. writhen, AS. wrian to twist; akin to OHG. ridan, Icel. ria, Sw. vrida, Dan. vride. Cf. Wreathe, Wrest, Wroth.

imperfect Writhed ; past participle Writhed, obsolete or Poetic Writhen ; present participle & verbal noun Writhing

To twist; to turn; now, usually, to twist or turn so as to distort; to wring. "With writhing [turning] of a pin." Chaucer.
Then Satan first knew pain, And writhed him to and fro. Milton.

Her mouth she writhed, her forehead taught to frown. Dryden.

His battle-writhen arms, and mighty hands. Tennyson.
To wrest; to distort; to pervert.
The reason which he yieldeth showeth the least part of his meaning to be that whereunto his words are writhed. Hooker.
To extort; to wring; to wrest. R. ; extract
The nobility hesitated not to follow the example of their sovereign in writhing money from them by every species of oppression. Sir W. Scott.

To twist or contort the body; to be distorted; as, to writhe with agony. Also used figuratively.
After every attempt, he felt that he had failed, and writhed with shame and vexation. Macaulay.