wring

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (intransitive), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

wring, v. t. [OE. wringen, AS. wringan; akin to LG. & D. wringen, OHG. ringan to struggle, G. ringen, Sw. vränga to distort, Dan. vringle to twist. Cf. Wrangle, Wrench, Wrong.].

•  To twist and compress; to turn and strain with violence; to writhe; to squeeze hard; to pinch; as, to wring clothes in washing.  [1913 Webster]

  "[His steed] so sweat that men might him wring."  [1913 Webster]

  "The king began to find where his shoe did wring him."  [1913 Webster]

  "The priest shall bring it [a dove] unto the altar, and wring off his head."  [1913 Webster]
•  Hence, to pain; to distress; to torment; to torture.  [1913 Webster]

  "Too much grieved and wrung by an uneasy and strait fortune."  [1913 Webster]

  "Didst thou taste but half the griefs
  That wring my soul, thou couldst not talk thus coldly."  [1913 Webster]
•  To distort; to pervert; to wrest.  [1913 Webster]

  "How dare men thus wring the Scriptures?"  [1913 Webster]
•  To extract or obtain by twisting and compressing; to squeeze or press (out); hence, to extort; to draw forth by violence, or against resistance or repugnance; -- usually with out or form.  [1913 Webster]

  "Your overkindness doth wring tears from me."  [1913 Webster]

  "He rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece."  [1913 Webster]
•  To subject to extortion; to afflict, or oppress, in order to enforce compliance.  [1913 Webster]

  "To wring the widow from her 'customed right."  [1913 Webster]

  "The merchant adventures have been often wronged and wringed to the quick."  [1913 Webster]
•  To bend or strain out of its position; as, to wring a mast.  [1913 Webster]

wring, v. i. 

 To writhe; to twist, as with anguish.  [1913 Webster]
"'T is all men's office to speak patience
To those that wring under the load of sorrow."  [1913 Webster]
"Look where the sister of the king of France
Sits wringing of her hands, and beats her breast."  [1913 Webster]

wring, n. 

 A writhing, as in anguish; a twisting; a griping.  Bp. Hall.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

wring, v. & n.
--v.tr. (past and past part. wrung)
1 a squeeze tightly. b (often foll. by out) squeeze and twist esp. to remove liquid.
2 twist forcibly; break by twisting.
3 distress or torture.
4 extract by squeezing.
5 (foll. by out, from) obtain by pressure or importunity; extort.
--n. an act of wringing; a squeeze.

Idiom

wring a person's hand clasp it forcibly or press it with emotion. wring one's hands clasp them as a gesture of great distress. wring the neck of kill (a chicken etc.) by twisting its neck.

Etymology

OE wringan, rel. to WRONG

THESAURUS

wring

afflict, agonize, ail, anamorphism, anamorphosis, asymmetry, badger, bend, bite, blackmail, bloody, buckle, burn, chafe, claim, claw, concentrate, contort, contortion, convulse, corkscrew, crinkle, crook, crookedness, crucify, crumple, cut, decoct, demand, detorsion, deviation, disproportion, distill, distort, distortion, distress, essentialize, exact, exaction, excruciate, express, extort, extortion, fester, force from, fret, gall, give pain, gnarl, gnaw, gouge, grate, grind, gripe, harrow, hurt, imbalance, impale, inflame, inflict pain, infuse, intort, irregularity, irritate, kill by inches, knot, lacerate, lancinate, levy blackmail, lopsidedness, macerate, martyr, martyrize, meander, melt down, nip, pain, pierce, pinch, press, press out, prick, prolong the agony, pry loose from, punish, put to torture, quirk, rack, rankle, rasp, refine, rend, rend from, render, rending, rip, rip from, ripping, rub, savage, scallop, scarify, screw, serpentine, shake down, slink, snake, snatch from, soak, spring, squeeze, stab, steep, sting, swirl, tear from, tearing, torment, torsion, tortuosity, torture, try, turn, turn awry, tweak, twine, twirl, twist, twist and turn, unsymmetry, warp, whirl, whorl, wind, worm, wound, wrench, wrench from, wrenching, wrest, wresting, wring from, wring out, wringing, writhe, wry

ROGET THESAURUS

wring

Cleanness

VB be clean, render clean, clean, cleanse, mundify, rinse, wring, flush, full, wipe, mop, sponge, scour, swab, scrub, brush up, wash, lave, launder, buck, absterge, deterge, decrassify, clear, purify, depurate, despumate, defecate, purge, expurgate, elutriate, lixiviate, edulcorate, clarify, refine, rack, filter, filtrate, drain, strain, disinfect, fumigate, ventilate, deodorize, whitewash, castrate, emasculate, sift, winnow, pick, weed, comb, rake, brush, sweep, rout out, clear out, sweep out, make a clean sweep of.

Painfulness

VB cause pain, occasion pain, give pain, bring pain, induce pain, produce pain, create pain, inflict pain, pain, hurt, wound, pinch, prick, gripe, pierce, lancinate, cut, hurt the feelings, wound the feelings, grate upon the feelings, grate upon the nerves, jar upon the feelings, wring the heart, pierce the heart, lacerate the heart, break the heart, rend the heart, make the heart bleed, tear the heart strings, rend the heart strings, draw tears from the eyes, sadden, make unhappy, plunge into sorrow, grieve, fash, afflict, distress, cut up, cut to the heart, displease, annoy, incommode, discompose, trouble, disquiet, faze, feaze, feeze, disturb, cross, perplex, molest, tease, tire, irk, vex, mortify, wherret, worry, plague, bother, pester, bore, pother, harass, harry, badger, heckle, bait, beset, infest, persecute, importune, wring, harrow, torment, torture, bullyrag, put to the rack, put to the question, break on the wheel, rack, scarify, cruciate, crucify, convulse, agonize, barb the dart, plant a dagger in the breast, plant a thorn in one's side, irritate, provoke, sting, nettle, try the patience, pique, fret, rile, tweak the nose, chafe, gall, sting to the quick, wound to the quick, cut to the quick, aggrieve, affront, enchafe, enrage, ruffle, sour the temper, give offense, maltreat, bite, snap at, assail, smite, sicken, disgust, revolt, nauseate, disenchant, repel, offend, shock, stink in the nostrils, go against the stomach, turn the stomach, make one sick, set the teeth on edge, go against the grain, grate on the ear, stick in one's throat, stick in one's gizzard, rankle, gnaw, corrode, horrify, appal, appall, freeze the blood, make the flesh creep, make the hair stand on end, make the blood curdle, make the blood run cold, make one shudder, haunt the memory, weigh on the heart, prey on the heart, weigh on the mind, prey on the mind, weigh on the spirits, prey on the spirits, bring one's gray hairs with sorrow to the grave, add a nail to one's coffin.

Convolution

VB be convoluted, wind, twine, turn and twist, twirl, wave, undulate, meander, inosculate, entwine, intwine, twist, coil, roll, wrinkle, curl, crisp, twill, frizzle, crimp, crape, indent, scollop, scallop, wring, intort, contort, wreathe.

Physical Pain

VB feel pain, experience pain, suffer pain, undergo pain, suffer, ache, smart, bleed, tingle, shoot, twinge, twitch, lancinate, writhe, wince, make a wry face, sit on thorns, sit on pins and needles, give pain, inflict pain, lacerate, pain, hurt, chafe, sting, bite, gnaw, gripe, pinch, tweak, grate, gall, fret, prick, pierce, wring, convulse, torment, torture, rack, agonize, crucify, cruciate, excruciate, break on the wheel, put to the rack, flog, grate on the ear.