writhe

writhe in (something)

1. To move in twisting, contorted, or squirming motions within something. I looked at the worms writhing in the tub of dirt and nearly got sick. There were about 200 people writhing in the mosh pit at the heavy metal concert.
2. To suffer intense physical or mental distress as a result of some physical or emotional stimulus. The patient writhed in pain as the disease made its way up her spinal column. The audience sat in their chairs writhing in discomfort during the gory film.
See also: writhe

writhe under (something)

1. To move in twisting, contorted, or squirming motions due to the pain of some kind of physical assault. I'll never forget the sight of my brother writhing under the blows from our father's belt. The soldier writhed under the lash of his captors' whips.
2. To suffer intense mental distress as a result of some oppressive external force. The troublesome boys began to writhe under the stern eye of their teacher. I could tell she was writhing under all the attention being focused on her. Tom writhed under the boss's insults during the meeting, but didn't utter a word.
See also: writhe

writhe with (something)

1. To contain people or things moving in twisting, contorted, or squirming motions. I looked at the tub of dirt writhing with worms and nearly got sick. The mosh pit at the heavy metal concert writhed with about 200 people dancing their guts out.
2. To suffer intense physical or mental distress as a result of some physical or emotional stimulus. The patient writhed with pain as the disease made its way up her spinal column. The audience sat in their chairs writhing with discomfort during the gory film.
See also: writhe
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

writhe under something

 
1. . Lit. to squirm with pain from being beaten with something. The sailor writhed under the sting of the lash. The child writhed under the pain of his spanking.
2. . Fig. to suffer under a mental burden. I writhed under her constant verbal assault and finally left the room. Why do I have to writhe under her insults?
See also: writhe

writhe with something

 
1. . and writhe in something [for someone or an animal] to squirm because of something, such as pain. Carl writhed with pain and began to cry. He was writhing in pain when the paramedics arrived.
2. . [for something] to support or contain something that is writhing. The pit was writhing with snakes and other horrid things. The floor of the basement was writhing in spiders and crawly things.
See also: writhe
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • writhe in (something)
  • writhe with
  • writhe with (something)
  • writhe under
  • writhe under (something)
  • wriggle in
  • wriggle into (something or some place)
  • wriggle (one's) way into (something or some place)
  • swiggle
  • swiggled
References in periodicals archive
On the whole, the percentage decrease in mean number of writhings by both doses of amiloride in mice is lower when compared to that in rats, whereas the percentage decrease in mean number of writhes by aspirin is more in mice than that in rats (Figures 3 and 4).
Study of analgesic effect of amiloride compared to aspirin in chemically induced pain models in rats and mice
The mice were then observed for 10 min, and a number of writhes were recorded for each animal.
Evaluation of antinociceptive activity of minocycline: An experimental study
The abdominal writhes (constrictions), after 5 minutes of the acetic acid injection (0.01 ml), were counted for 10 min [25].
Antinociceptive Activity of the Crude Methanolic Extract and Different Fractions of Viola serpens Wall
The analgesic activity was determined by observing the number of writhes in the various treated groups.
Analgesic activity of Portulaca oleracea Linn. in experimental animal models
The mice were then observed for 10 min, and the number of writhes was recorded.
Evaluation of analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic activity of leukotriene receptor antagonist-montelukast: An experimental study
After 60 minutes of the administration acetic acid induced writhing test was performed by injecting 0.6% w/v acetic acid (0.1ml/10gm) in the peritoneal cavity of the animals The number of writhes produced for a period of 5-30 mins were counted.
INVESTIGATING ANTINOCICEPTIVE POTENTIAL OF Origanum vulgare L. EXTRACT USING ANIMAL MODELS OF PAIN
Her S&M hit video, in which she writhes in See Charlie Catchpole: Page 23 MANY kids' role models have been accused of promoting "sexualisation" in society.
BLIMEY CYRUS
Rihanna also writhes around in bondage gear in the promo while singing: "Strut up in the club, posted in the back, feeling so good, looking so bad.
GUNS 'N' POSES; the Razz
Angst writhes through her tone, along with dejection, rejection, frustration and humiliation.
Barnes, Jennifer Lynn. Golden
Described by its architect as a 'coralline concretion', it writhes and heaves like a blanched, beached sea creature along the water's edge.
Zaha Hadid: art museum, Cagliari, Italy
And she's certainly good at getting herself in a twist as she writhes about half-naked on stage.
Mailbox: Strop of the pops
Gwynnie frolicks naked in the waves and writhes about in bed with co-star Daniel Craig, so we're sure the Coldplay singer can hardly wait.
CELEB GOSSIP: Privates viewing
The Nature article presents photos that illustrate the reason for that uniformity: A rare lefty in a right-spiraling species closely related to Euhadra writhes heroically but fails to mate with a partner with the majority spiral.
Your spiral or mine? Snail gene reverses coil, makes new species
Data represent the average of the total number of writhes observed at 5-min intervals and are expressed as percentage inhibition.
Evaluation of the analgesic activity of extracts of Miconia rubiginosa (Melastomataceae)
23, 2000) reports, was "stuck between a woman who writhes seductively in front of burning crosses and grabs herself in embarrassing places and a man whose most famous [pornographic] Web site offers access ...
MADONNA OF MY DOMAIN