Wry
Wry , transitive verb
[Anglo-Saxon wreón.]
To cover. [Obsolete]
Wrie you in that mantle.
Wry , adjective
[Akin to Old English wrien to twist, to bend, Anglo-Saxon wrigian to tend towards, to drive.]
1.
Turned to one side; twisted; distorted; as, a wry mouth.
2.
Hence, deviating from the right direction; misdirected; out of place; as, wry words.
Not according to the wry rigor of our neighbors, who never take up an old idea without some extravagance in its application.
3.
Wrested; perverted.
He... puts a wry sense upon Protestant writers.
Collocations (1)
Wry face , a distortion of the countenance indicating impatience, disgust, or discomfort; a grimace.
Wry , intransitive verb
1.
To twist; to writhe; to bend or wind.
2.
To deviate from the right way; to go away or astray; to turn side; to swerve.
This Phebus gan awayward for to wryen.
How many
Must murder wives much better than themselves
For wrying but a little!
Wry , transitive verb
[Old English wrien. See Wry, a.]
To twist; to distort; to writhe; to wrest; to vex. — Sir P. Sidney
Guests by hundreds, not one caring
If the dear host's neck were wried.