<B>wriggler, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who wriggles. <DD><B> 2. </B>the larva of a mosquito. </DL>
<A NAME="wriggly">
<B>wriggly, </B>adjective, <B>-glier,</B> <B>-gliest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> twisting and turning. </DL>
<A NAME="wright">
<B>wright, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a maker of something (now usually in combinations). A wheelwright makes wheels. A playwright makes plays for the theater. </DL>
<A NAME="wring">
<B>wring, </B>verb, <B>wrung</B> or (Rare) <B>wringed,</B> <B>wringing,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to twist with force; squeeze hard. <BR> <I>Ex. to wring clothes.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to force by twisting or squeezing. <BR> <I>Ex. I wrung water from my wet bathing suit.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) to get by force, effort, or persuasion. <BR> <I>Ex. to wring a promise from someone. The old beggar could wring money from anyone with his sad story.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to clasp and hold firmly; press. <BR> <I>Ex. He wrung his old friend's hand in joy at seeing him.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Figurative.) to cause distress, pain, pity, or other sentiment in. <BR> <I>Ex. His soul was wrung with grief. Their poverty wrung his heart.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>to twist violently; wrench. <BR> <I>Ex. to wring a chicken's neck.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to twist about in or as if in struggle or anguish; writhe. <DD><I>noun </I> a twist or squeeze. <BR><I>expr. <B>wring out,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to twist so as to force out water. </I> <I>Ex. to wring out a towel. Wring out your wet bathing suit.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to force out by twisting; squeeze out. <BR> <I>Ex. to wring out water. (Figurative.) to wring out tears in an effort to get sympathy.</I> <DD><B> c. </B>(Figurative.) to draw out by force or pressure; extract. <BR> <I>Ex. to wring out a confession.</I> adj. <B>wringable.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="wringer">
<B>wringer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a machine for squeezing water from clothes. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person who wrings clothes or the like after washing. <DD><B> 3. </B>a person or thing that wrings. <BR><I>expr. <B>put through the wringer,</B> </I>(Informal.) to put through an ordeal; subject to severe stresses. <BR> <I>Ex. Students asking for loans are really put through the wringer (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="wringingwet">
<B>wringing-wet, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> so wet that water may be wrung out. </DL>
<A NAME="wrinkle">
<B>wrinkle</B> (1), noun, verb, <B>-kled,</B> <B>-kling.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a ridge or fold; crease. <BR> <I>Ex. The old man's face has wrinkles. I must press the wrinkles out of this dress.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a difficulty, problem, or the like. <BR> <I>Ex. It will probably take a few more days or ... weeks to get all the wrinkles ironed out and make the formal offer (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to make a wrinkle or wrinkles in. <BR> <I>Ex. She wrinkled her forehead.</I> (SYN) crease, crinkle. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to have wrinkles; acquire wrinkles. <BR> <I>Ex. This shirt will not wrinkle.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to contract (as into smiles or a look of concern) by puckering. </DL>
<A NAME="wrinkle">
<B>wrinkle</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a useful hint or idea; clever trick. <DD><B> 2. </B>a special or unusual technique, approach, or device; novelty. <BR> <I>Ex. The newest wrinkle in the $2.5 billion cosmetics business is a lotion that camouflages ... creases (Time).</I> </DL>
<B>wrist, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the joint that connects the hand with the arm. <DD><B> 2. </B>a corresponding joint or part of the forelimb of an animal. <DD><B> 3. </B>the bones of this part; carpus. <DD><B> 4. </B>the part of a glove, mitten, or garment covering the wrist. <DD><B> 5. </B><B>=wrist pin.</B> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to move, send, or throw by a movement of the wrist. <BR> <I>Ex. Evans rounded off a hectic ... few seconds by wristing the second rebound high over the bar (London Times).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>slap on the wrist,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>See under <B>slap</B> (1).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Informal.) to give a light scolding. <BR> <I>Ex. He can slap his own discipline on the wrist: "We [sociologists] find it easier to describe the limits of human conduct than the areas of freedom" (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="wristband">
<B>wristband, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the band of a sleeve fitting around the wrist. <DD><B> 2. </B>a strap worn around the wrist, such as that of a wrist watch. </DL>
<A NAME="wristdrop">
<B>wrist-drop, </B>noun, or <B>wrist drop,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a disorder characterized by the inability to extend the hand and fingers, usually caused by a paralysis of the extensor muscles of the hand. </DL>
<A NAME="wrister">
<B>wrister, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Dialect.) a wristlet. </DL>
<A NAME="wristlet">
<B>wristlet, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a band worn around the wrist to keep it warm or for ornament. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=bracelet.</B> <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=handcuff.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="wristlock">
<B>wristlock, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a hold in wrestling in which one contestant grasps the wrist of the other and twists it so as to force his body in some desired direction. </DL>
<A NAME="wristpin">
<B>wrist pin,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a stud or pin projecting from the side of a crank, wheel, or the like, and forming a means of attachment to a connecting rod. </DL>
<A NAME="wristshot">
<B>wrist shot,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Sports.) a shot or stroke in which the power is supplied mainly by the wrist instead of the arm. Wrist shots are often used in ice hockey, badminton, and golf. </DL>
<A NAME="wristwatch">
<B>wrist watch,</B> or <B>wristwatch, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small watch worn on a strap or bracelet around the wrist. </DL>
<A NAME="wristwork">
<B>wristwork, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> flexure of the wrist, as in batting. <BR> <I>Ex. Shifting to an entirely new grip, which makes nonsense of all that preliminary wristwork, he speeds away (Punch).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="wristy">
<B>wristy, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> performed by flexure of the wrist; marked by or skilled in wristwork. <BR> <I>Ex. wristy shots or strokes, a wristy play.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="writ">
<B>writ</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>something written; piece of writing. The Bible is Holy Writ. <DD><B> 2a. </B>a formal written order issued in the name of a court of law, government, or other authority, directing a person to do or not to do something. <BR> <I>Ex. The lawyer got a writ from the judge to release the man wrongly held in jail.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(in early English law) any one of certain documents issued under seal in the form of a letter, in the king's name. </DL>
<A NAME="writ">
<B>writ</B> (2), verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) a past tense and a past participle of <B>write.</B> <BR> <I>Ex. The names are writ in gold.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>writ large,</B> </I>visibly enlarged or magnified. <BR> <I>Ex. [The] new Pay Tax is just old Income Tax writ large (Punch). The excitement the race generates is writ large (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="writative">
<B>writative, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> disposed or inclined to write; given to writing. <BR> <I>Ex. Increase in years makes men more talkative, but less writative (Alexander Pope).</I> </DL>
