GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Writhe , v. t. [imp. Writhed ; p. p. Writhed, Obs. or Poetic Writhen ; p. pr. & vb. n. Writhing.] [OE. writhen, AS. wrīan to twist; akin to OHG. rīdan, Icel. rīa, Sw. vrida, Dan. vride. Cf. Wreathe, Wrest, Wroth.]
   1913 Webster
   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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   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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   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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2.       
   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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