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Writhe wound its way to us from the Old English verb wrīthan, meaning “to twist,” and that ancestral meaning lives on in the word’s current uses, most of which have to do with twists of one kind or another. Among the oldest of these uses is the meaning “to twist into coils or folds,” but in modern use writhing is more often about the physical contortions of one suffering from debilitating pain or attempting to remove oneself from a tight grasp (as, say, a snake from a hawk’s talons). The word is also not infrequently applied to the twisting bodies of dancers. The closest relation of writhe in modern English lacks any of the painful connotations often present in writhe: wreath comes from Old English writha, which shares an ancestor with wrīthan.
Examples of writhe in a Sentence
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2025
The writhing mass was remarkably powerful.
—Katie Thornton, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
Lorde writhed and danced on the b-stage and then launched into her own verse, recorded for the song’s viral remix during the brat-green summer of 2024.
—Rachel Scharf, Billboard, 19 Oct. 2025
And four weeks after writhing on the field, head coach Dave Canales told reporters that Corbett’s 21-day practice window will open Wednesday.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for writhe
Cite this Entry
“Writhe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/writhe. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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