writhingly
- adverb
- /ˈraɪðɪŋli/
- Literature
:
retorciéndose
- The student looked writhingly at the floor after making a mistake in front of the class.
Examples
-
He answered the question writhingly, clearly uncomfortable with the attention.
-
She smiled writhingly as everyone stared at the awkward gift he had given her.
-
He writhingly avoided eye contact after the embarrassing incident.
-
She spoke writhingly about her mistakes at the meeting.
-
She squirmed writhingly in her seat as the teacher recounted her embarrassing mistake.
-
He stood there writhingly, the redness in his face evident as everyone waited for his response.
-
They could see that she was fidgeting writhingly, clearly overwhelmed by the unexpected attention.
Synonyms
26
3.4
In a way that makes a person feel uncomfortable or awkward
13
3.5
In a way that makes you feel embarrassed
1
6.7
In a way that makes someone feel very ashamed and small
1
8.0
Causing strong embarrassment or shame
1
7.9
In a shy, embarrassed way
1
4.6
In a way that shows someone is shy or awkward
1
6.8
In a way that shows you feel shame
1
9.1
Making a quick face of pain or embarrassment
In a way that makes people feel embarrassed or uncomfortable
In a way that shows discomfort or nervousness by moving restlessly
How Embarrassed
Surface Forms
Morphology
writhingly = writhing (semi-transparent) = writhe + ing + ly
Formed by adding -ly to 'writhing'; the adverbial formation is regular, but the sense here is metaphorically extended to emotional embarrassment rather than literal bodily twisting.
Etymology
Writhingly comes from the old English verb writhe, which meant 'to twist'. A helpful image is someone 'twisting inside' from shame or embarrassment, so writhingly describes doing something in a way that shows strong discomfort or embarrassment.