wry

[rahy]

adjective

wrier, wriest 

1. bitterly or disdainfully ironic or amusing.

   a wry remark.

2. produced by a distortion or lopsidedness of the facial features.

   a wry grin.

3. abnormally bent or turned to one side; contorted; crooked.

   a wry mouth.

   Synonyms: askew, awry
   Antonyms: straight

4. devious in course or purpose; misdirected.

5. contrary; perverse.

6. distorted or perverted, as in meaning.

wry

/ raɪ /

adjective

1. twisted, contorted, or askew

2. (of a facial expression) produced or characterized by contorting of the features, usually indicating dislike

3. drily humorous; sardonic

4. warped, misdirected, or perverse

5. (of words, thoughts, etc) unsuitable or wrong

verb

1. (tr) to twist or contort

Other Word Forms

• wryness noun
• wryly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of wry¹

First recorded in 1515–25; adjective use of obsolete verb wry “to twist,” Middle English wryen, Old English wrīgian “to go, strive, tend, swerve”; cognate with Dutch wrijgen “to twist”; akin to Old English wrigels, Latin rīcula “veil,” Greek rhoikós “crooked”

Word History and Origins

Origin of wry¹

C16: from dialect wry to twist, from Old English wrīgian to turn; related to Old Frisian wrīgia to bend, Old Norse riga to move, Middle Low German wrīch bent, stubborn

Example Sentences

"Someone joked that I must have married half of North Yorkshire by now," Alicia Butcher says with a wry smile.

From BBC

Unlike the brutality of “The Poppy Wars” or the tragedy of “Babel,” “Katabasis” maintains a slight wry humor throughout.

From Los Angeles Times

“And I was like, ‘Sure, how hard can it be?’” he said with a wry smile.

From Los Angeles Times

Critics once dismissed Rajinikanth as a mere "Style King," known for his cigarette flicks, sunglass twirls, and punchy dialogues laced with wry humour.

From BBC

"Dealing with a suspected bomb in a playground is not exactly something they cover in the clerk's manual," she says with a wry smile, "but we sealed off the site straight away."

From BBC

Related Words

• droll 
• ironic 
• mocking 
• sardonic 
• warped 

When To Use

What does wry mean?

Wry commonly means humorous in a way that’s very “dry,” irreverent, ironic, sarcastic, or sardonic. The sense of word is especially used in the terms wry humor and wry wit.This sense of wry is a figurative extension of its literal sense, which means crooked, lopsided, contorted, or distorted. It can also mean contrary or perverse.A wry smile and a wry expression are probably both somewhat contorted and intended to indicate a sense of irony or sarcasm. You might give a wry smile after telling a particularly wry joke (the kind of joke that’s so dry that it’s hard to tell whether it’s a joke).The related word awry can be used as an adverb form of wry or as an adjective meaning wrong in some way (amiss) or slanted or twisted (askew).Example: It takes a while to get used to her wry sense of humor, but she’s not as cynical as she sounds.