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wring |
4 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Wring \Wring\, v. i. To writhe; to twist, as with anguish. 'T is all men's office to speak patience To those that wring under the load of sorrow. --Shak. Look where the sister of the king of France Sits wringing of her hands, and beats her breast. --Marlowe. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Wring \Wring\, n. A writhing, as in anguish; a twisting; a griping. [Obs.] --Bp. Hall. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Wring \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 vr["a]nga to distort, Dan. vringle to twist. Cf {Wrangle}, {Wrench}, {Wrong}.] 1. To twist and compress; to turn and strain with violence; to writhe; to squeeze hard; to pinch; as to wring clothes in washing. ``Earnestly wringing Waverley's hand.'' --Sir W. Scott. ``Wring him by the nose.'' --Shak. [His steed] so sweat that men might him wring. --Chaucer. The king began to find where his shoe did wring him --Bacon. The priest shall bring it [a dove] unto the altar, and wring off his head. --Lev. i. 15. 2. Hence to pain; to distress; to torment; to torture. Too much grieved and wrung by an uneasy and strait fortune. --Clarendon. Didst thou taste but half the griefs That wring my soul, thou couldst not talk thus coldly. --Addison. 3. To distort; to pervert; to wrest. How dare men thus wring the Scriptures? --Whitgift. 4. 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 Your overkindness doth wring tears from me --Shak. He rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece. --Judg. vi 38. 5. To subject to extortion; to afflict, or oppress, in order to enforce compliance. To wring the widow from her 'customed right --Shak. The merchant adventures have been often wronged and wringed to the quick. --Hayward. 6. (Naut.) To bend or strain out of its position; as to wring a mast. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: wring n : a twisting squeeze: "gave the wet cloth a wring" [syn: {squeeze}] v 1: twist and press out of shape [syn: {contort}, {deform}, {distort}] 2: twist and compress, as if in pain or anguish; "Wring one's hand" [syn: {wrench}] 3: obtain by coercion or intimidation; "They extorted money from the executive by threatening to reveal his past to the company boss" [syn: {extort}, {rack}, {gouge}]
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