Wrench
Wrench (rĕnch), n. [OE. wrench deceit, AS. wrenc deceit, a twisting; akin to G. rank intrigue, crookedness, renken to bend, twist, and E. wring. √144. See Wring, and cf. Ranch, ...
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, C. & G. Merriam Co., 1913.
2.791 entries
Wrench (rĕnch), n. [OE. wrench deceit, AS. wrenc deceit, a twisting; akin to G. rank intrigue, crookedness, renken to bend, twist, and E. wring. √144. See Wring, and cf. Ranch, ...
Wrench, v. t. [imp. & p. p.Wrenched (?); p. pr. & vb. n.Wrenching.] [OE. wrenchen, AS. wrencan to deceive, properly, to twist, from wrenc guile, deceit, a twisting. ����. See Wr...
Wrest (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p.Wrested; p. pr. & vb. n.Wresting.] [OE. wresten, AS. wr�stan; akin to wr�� a twisted band, and wrī�n to twist. See Writhe.]1. To turn; to twist; es...
Wrest, n. 1. The act of wresting; a wrench; a violent twist; hence, distortion; perversion. Hooker.2. Active or moving power. Spenser.3. A key to tune a stringed instrument of m...
Wrest″er (?), n. One who wrests.
Wres″tle (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p.Wrestled (?); p. pr. & vb. n.Wrestling (?).] [OE. wrestlen, wrastlen, AS. wr�stlian, freq. of wr�stan to wrest; akin to OD. wrastelen to wrestle...
Wres″tle, v. t. To wrestle with; to seek to throw down as in wrestling.
Wres″tle, n. A struggle between two persons to see which will throw the other down; a bout at wrestling; a wrestling match; a struggle.Whom in a wrestle the giant catching aloft...
Wres″tler (?), n. [AS. wrǣstlere.] One who wrestles; one who is skillful in wrestling.
Wres″tling (?), n. Act of one who wrestles; specif., the sport consisting of the hand-to-hand combat between two unarmed contestants who seek to throw each other. The various st...
Wretch (?), n. [OE. wrecche, AS. wrecca, wræcca, an exile, a wretch, fr. wrecan to drive out, punish; properly, an exile, one driven out, akin to AS. wræc an exile, OS. wrekkio ...
Wretch″ed, a. 1. Very miserable; sunk in, or accompanied by, deep affliction or distress, as from want, anxiety, or grief; calamitous; woeful; very afflicting. “To what wretched...
Wretch″ed‐ly, adv. In a wretched manner; miserably; despicable.
Wretch″ed‐ness, n. 1. The quality or state of being wretched; utter misery. Sir W. Raleigh.2. A wretched object; anything despicably.Eat worms and such wretchedness. Chaucer.
Wretch″ful (?), a. Wretched. Wyclif.
Wretch″less, a. [See Reckless.] Reckless; hence, disregarded. — Wretch″less‐ly, adv. — Wretch″less‐ness, n.Bk. of Com. Prayer.Your deaf ears should listenUnto the wretchless cla...
Wrey (?), v. t. See Wray. Chaucer.
Wrie (?), a. & v. See Wry. Chaucer.
Wrig (?), v. i. To wriggle. Skelton.
Wrig″gle (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p.Wriggled (?); p. pr. & vb. n.Wriggling (?).] [Freq. of wrig, probably from OE. wrikken to move to and fro; cf. LG. wriggeln, D. wrikken, Sw. vri...
Wrig″gle, v. t. To move with short, quick contortions; to move by twisting and squirming; like a worm.Covetousness will wriggle itself out at a small hole. Fuller.Wriggling his ...
Wrig″gle, a. Wriggling; frisky; pliant; flexible. “Their wriggle tails.” Spenser.
Wrig″gle, n. Act of wriggling; a short or quick writhing motion or contortion.
Wrig″gler (?), n. One who, or that which, wriggles. Cowper.
Wright (?), n. [OE. wrighte, writhe, AS. wyrtha, fr. wyrcean to work. √145. See Work.] One who is engaged in a mechanical or manufacturing business; an artificer; a workman; a m...
Wright″ine (?), n.(Chem.) A rare alkaloid found in the bark of an East Indian apocynaceous tree (Wrightia antidysenterica), and extracted as a bitter white crystalline substance...
Wring (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p.Wrung (?), Obs.Wringed (�); p. pr. & vb. n.Wringing.] [OE. wringen, AS. wringan; akin to LG. & D. wringen, OHG. ringan to struggle, G. ringen, Sw. ...