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, noun

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, noun

Word 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