1
as in to weave
to cause to twine about one another
tends to writhe his fingers together when he's nervous or upset
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to squirm
to make jerky or restless movements
writhing in pain from his injuries
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of writhe
The camera swept in and among the writhing bodies in a rollicking, kinetic performance.
—
ABC News, 16 Mar. 2026
Ref Bankes initially ignored the wide-eyed protests of several Chelsea players to flash only his yellow card as Garnacho writhed, grimacing on the floor and clutching his left leg.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2026
Doncic writhed below the basket, spending a stoppage of 2-plus minutes with a Lakers trainer kneeling beside him.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 25 Feb. 2026
The mesmerizing power of the booming sound in a southern Moroccan desert prompts the teeming bodies to writhe and dance in an ecstatic state.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for writhe
ABC News, 16 Mar. 2026
Ref Bankes initially ignored the wide-eyed protests of several Chelsea players to flash only his yellow card as Garnacho writhed, grimacing on the floor and clutching his left leg.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2026
Doncic writhed below the basket, spending a stoppage of 2-plus minutes with a Lakers trainer kneeling beside him.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 25 Feb. 2026
The mesmerizing power of the booming sound in a southern Moroccan desert prompts the teeming bodies to writhe and dance in an ecstatic state.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for writhe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for writhe
Verb
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But where limestone is crumbly and opaque, nacre’s toughness and light-bending properties come from silklike proteins that weave among the layers, holding them in place while providing enough elasticity to absorb the shock of a fracture.—
Caitlin Kennedy,
Scientific American,
25 Apr. 2026
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Never tested in orbit, NASA’s robot could, in theory, perform tasks like weaving solar power stations and antennae in space from spools of carbon fiber.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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For moist at least, a long history as a word associated with bodily discharge coupled with its more recent use as a sexualized word positioned it as one that makes young modern women squirm more than men.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Apr. 2026
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The veterans, of course, are terrific with one later episode set on a plane that finds Mulligan in top squirming form.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Two boys tussling over a bladder in a three-foot-high canvas painted by Joseph Wright of Derby in the late 1760s snarl up in a whirlpool of pain, each twisting the other’s right ear.—
Julian Bell,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
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It is made of hard plastic and twists together, but other than that, this accessory serves the same purpose as Apple’s key ring.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Pebbles twitched, branches waggled, cholla wiggled, weeds erupted then dried up and died.—
Alina Hartounian,
NPR,
20 Apr. 2026
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The launch can also be viewed on NASA's social media platforms include Facebook, twitch and X as well as NASA+, the agency's streaming service.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Yet Cotton plausibly describes a life where human routines are deeply entwined with those of other creatures and the cycle of the Sun.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Apr. 2026
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Gerardo Dottori’s 1942 Aerial Battle over the Gulf of Naples mobilizes the contrails of its entwining fighter jets to express the effect of new military technology on a crystalline landscape.—
Simon Denny,
Artforum,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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As the court moved to watch the KSTU-TV segment, Tyler Robinson appeared to begin fidgeting, with one of his hands moving and rubbing his fingers back and forth.—
Stepheny Price , Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
17 Apr. 2026
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When fastened, the zippers are locked in place, and pickpockets would have to fidget for a moment to get the gadget undone, giving you time to react.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Trevor Bauer, the former Cy Young Award winner and MLB All-Star, tossed a no-hitter for the independent Long Island Ducks in a 13-0 win over the Lancaster Stormers on Sunday afternoon at Penn Medicine Park in Pennsylvania.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
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Now, some things are always going to be worth tossing—anything broken that can't be repaired, for example—but for other items, the line between keep or toss isn't so clear cut.—
Alexandra Kelly,
Martha Stewart,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The plane jerked to a stop as two trucks passed just feet in front of its nose.—
Alexandra Skores,
CNN Money,
16 Apr. 2026
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In a viral video of the aftermath, the robot jerks back and forth to shake the glass off, showering yet more dangerous shards onto the sidewalk.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Writhe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/writhe. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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