English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English wrien, from Old English wrīġian (to go, turn, twist, bend, strive, struggle, press forward, endeavor, venture), from Proto-Germanic *wrigōną (to wriggle), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyḱ- (to turn, wrap, tie), from *wer- (to turn, bend). Compare awry, wriggle.

Adjective

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wry (comparative wrier or wryer, superlative wriest or wryest)

  1. Turned away, contorted (of the face or body).
  2. Dryly humorous; sardonic or bitterly ironic.
    • 1871, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, “chapter 6”, in The Haunted Baronet:
      "[T]he master says a wry word now and then; and so ye let your spirits go down, don't ye see, and all sorts o' fancies comes into your head."
  3. Twisted, bent, crooked.
  4. Deviating from the right direction; misdirected; out of place.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Verb

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wry (third-person singular simple present wries, present participle wrying, simple past and past participle wried)

  1. (obsolete, intransitive) To turn (away); to swerve or deviate.
    • 1535, Thomas More, chapter 18, in Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation:
      God pricketh them of his great goodness still. And the grief of this great pang pincheth them at the heart, and of wickedness they wry away.
    • 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [] (First Folio), London: [] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
      You married ones,
      If each of you should take this course, how many
      Must murder wives much better than themselves
      For wrying but a little!
  2. (obsolete, transitive) To divert; to cause to turn away.
  3. (transitive) To twist or contort (the body, face, etc.).
Translations
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Noun

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wry

  1. (regional) Distortion.

Etymology 2

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From Middle English wryen, wrien, wreon, wrihen, from Old English wrēon (to cover, clothe, envelop), from Proto-West Germanic *wrīhan, from Proto-Germanic *wrīhaną (to wrap, cover), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyḱ- (to turn, wrap, tie), from *wer- (to turn, bend).

Verb

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wry (third-person singular simple present wries, present participle wrying, simple past and past participle wried)

  1. (transitive, obsolete) To cover; clothe; cover up; cloak; hide.