wry
[ rahy ]
/ raɪ /
adjective, wri·er, wri·est.
produced by a distortion or lopsidedness of the facial features: a wry grin.
abnormally bent or turned to one side; twisted; crooked: a wry mouth.
devious in course or purpose; misdirected.
contrary; perverse.
distorted or perverted, as in meaning.
bitterly or disdainfully ironic or amusing: a wry remark.
Origin of wry
1515–25; adj. use of
wry to twist, Middle English
wryen, Old English
wrīgian to go, strive, tend, swerve; cognate with Dutch
wrijgen to twist; akin to Old English
wrigels, Latin
rīcula veil, Greek
rhoikós crooked
OTHER WORDS FROM wry
wry·ly, adverb wry·ness, nounWords nearby wry
Example sentences from the Web for wry
British Dictionary definitions for wry
wry
/ (raɪ) /
adjective wrier, wriest, wryer or wryest
twisted, contorted, or askew
(of a facial expression) produced or characterized by contorting of the features, usually indicating dislike
drily humorous; sardonic
warped, misdirected, or perverse
(of words, thoughts, etc) unsuitable or wrong
verb wries, wrying or wried
(tr)
to twist or contort
Derived forms of wry
wryly, adverb wryness, nounWord Origin for wry
C16: from dialect
wry to twist, from Old English
wrīgian to turn; related to Old Frisian
wrīgia to bend, Old Norse
riga to move, Middle Low German
wrīch bent, stubborn