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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
Nathaniel Rich, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
The Russians beat him for several minutes, giggling at the sight of their naked, one-legged prisoner writhing on the hard floor.
—Michael Collins, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2025
Cunningham immediately grabbed her leg and hopped around near the baseline before ultimately falling to the court while writhing in pain.
—Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Aug. 2025
Meanwhile, Tess is hiding behind records, writhing on the ground, directing Anna with sexy cues.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 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 10 Sep. 2025.
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