writhe

Plural: writhes

Verb

Verb Forms: writhed, writhing, writhes

To make twisting, squirming movements, typically in pain.
to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling)
- "The prisoner writhed in discomfort"
To twist, wring (something).
To contort (a part of the body).
To twist bodily; to contort one's self; to be distorted.
To extort.

Noun

A contortion.
The number of negative crossings subtracted from the number of positive crossings in a knot

Examples

The player would writhe in agony whenever their opponent played a power tile.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English writhen, from Old English wrīþan, from Proto-West Germanic *wrīþan, from Proto-Germanic *wrīþaną (“to weave, twist, turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to twist, writhe”). Cognate with Middle Dutch writen (“to turn, twist”), dialectal German reiden (“to turn, twist, lace”), Danish vride (“to twist”), Swedish vrida (“to turn, twist, wind”), French rider (“to wrinkle, furrow, ruffle”, (< Germanic)). Compare also Lithuanian riēsti (“to unbend, wind, roll”).

Synonyms

squirm, twist, worm, wrestle, wriggle

Scrabble Score: 12

writhe: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
writhe: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
writhe: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

writhe: valid Words With Friends Word