wry
pronunciation
How to pronounce wry in British English:
UK [raɪ]
How to pronounce wry in American English:
US [raɪ]
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- Adjective:
- humorously sarcastic or mocking
- bent to one side
- disdainfully or ironically humorous; scornful and mocking
Word Origin
- wry
- wry: [16] Wry means literally ‘twisted’ (many other English words beginning with wr-, such as wrist and writhe, share the same basic meaning). It comes from the now obsolete verb wry ‘deviate, twist’, which was descended from Old English wrīgian ‘turn, tend in a particular direction’. Wriggle [15] is probably related.=> wriggle
- wry (adj.)
- 1520s, "distorted, somewhat twisted to one side," from obsolete verb wry "to contort, to twist or turn," from Old English wrigian "to turn, bend, move, go," from Proto-Germanic *wrig- (cognates: Old Frisian wrigia "to bend," Middle Low German wrich "turned, twisted"), from PIE *wreik- "to turn" (cognates: Greek rhoikos "crooked," Lithuanian raisas "paralysed"), from root *wer- (3) "to turn, bend" (see versus). Of words, thoughts, etc., from 1590s. The original sense is preserved in awry.
Example
- 1. A wry smile spread over lynda 's face at this .
- 2. A wry sense of humor .
- 3. His wry humour may have its purpose .
- 4. Sir andrew , in fact , often showed his strong opinions in wry smiles rather than words .
- 5. Whether you like heart - stopping action or wry , witty dialogue , you should go out and see it .