writhe

writhe
    v 1: to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when
         struggling); "The prisoner writhed in discomfort"; "The
         child tried to wriggle free from his aunt's embrace" [syn:
         {writhe}, {wrestle}, {wriggle}, {worm}, {squirm}, {twist}]
    

Writhe \Writhe\, v. i.
   To twist or contort the body; to be distorted; as, to writhe
   with agony. Also used figuratively.
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         After every attempt, he felt that he had failed, and
         writhed with shame and vexation.         --Macaulay.
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Writhe \Writhe\, v. t. [imp. {Writhed}; p. p. {Writhed}, Obs. or
   Poetic {Writhen}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Writhing}.] [OE. writhen,
   AS. wr[imac]?an to twist; akin to OHG. r[imac]dan, Icel.
   r[imac]?a, Sw. vrida, Dan. vride. Cf. {Wreathe}, {Wrest},
   {Wroth}.]
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   1. To twist; to turn; now, usually, to twist or turn so as to
      distort; to wring. "With writhing [turning] of a pin."
      --Chaucer.
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            Then Satan first knew pain,
            And writhed him to and fro.           --Milton.
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            Her mouth she writhed, her forehead taught to frown.
                                                  --Dryden.
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            His battle-writhen arms, and mighty hands.
                                                  --Tennyson.
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   2. To wrest; to distort; to pervert.
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            The reason which he yieldeth showeth the least part
            of his meaning to be that whereunto his words are
            writhed.                              --Hooker.
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   3. To extort; to wring; to wrest. [R.]
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            The nobility hesitated not to follow the example of
            their sovereign in writhing money from them by every
            species of oppression.                --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.
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81 Moby Thesaurus words for "writhe":
      ache, agonize, ail, anguish, bend, blanch, bleed, blench, buckle,
      contort, crook, crumple, distort, feel pain, feel the pangs,
      fidget, flinch, flip out, flutter, freak out on, get high on, glow,
      gnarl, go hard with, go pitapat, grimace, have a misery,
      have the fidgets, have the shakes, heave, hurt, jerk, knot,
      palpitate, pant, pound, quake, quaver, quiver, recoil, screw,
      shake, shiver, shoot, shrink, smart, spring, squiggle, squirm,
      suffer, suffer anguish, swell, swell with emotion, thrash, thrill,
      thrill to, throb, tingle, tingle with excitement, toss,
      toss and turn, tremble, tumble, turn, turn awry, turn on to,
      twinge, twist, twist and turn, twitch, twitter, wag, waggle, warp,
      wiggle, wince, worm, wrench, wrest, wriggle, wring