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Writhe vs Flounder - What's the difference?

writhe | flounder |

In lang=en terms the difference between writhe and flounder

is that writhe is to twist or contort the body; to be distorted while flounder is to act clumsily or confused; to struggle or be flustered.

As verbs the difference between writhe and flounder

is that writhe is to twist, to wring (something) while flounder is to flop around as a fish out of water.

As nouns the difference between writhe and flounder

is that writhe is (knot theory) the number of negative crossings subtracted from the number of positive crossings in a knot while flounder is a european species of flatfish having dull brown colouring with reddish-brown blotches; fluke, european flounder,.

writhe

English

Verb

  • To twist, to wring (something).
  • To contort (a part of the body).
  • *, II.17:
  • *:Cicero (as I remember) had gotten a custome to wryth his nose, which signifieth a naturall scoffer.
  • To twist or contort the body; to be distorted.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 1, author=Phil McNulty, work=BBC Sport
    • , title= Everton 0-2 Liverpool , passage=The game was engulfed in controversy when Rodwell appeared to win the ball cleanly in a midfield challenge with Suarez. The tackle drew an angry response from Liverpool's players- Lucas in particular as Suarez writhed in agony - but it was an obvious injustice when the England Under-21 midfielder was shown the red card.}} (Webster 1913)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (knot theory) The number of negative crossings subtracted from the number of positive crossings in a knot

    • Anagrams

    * whiter * wither

    flounder

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) floundre, from . Cognate with Danish flynder, German Flunder, Swedish flundra.

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • A European species of flatfish having dull brown colouring with reddish-brown blotches; fluke, European flounder, .
  • (North America) Any of various flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae or Bothidae.
  • A bootmaker's tool for crimping boot fronts.
    • (rfi, the bootmaker's tool)
    External links
    * (wikipedia "flounder")

    Etymology 2

    Possibly from the noun. Possibly from (founder) or from (etyl) . See other terms beginning with fl , such as (flutter), (flitter), (float), (flap), (flub), (flip)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To flop around as a fish out of water.
  • To make clumsy attempts to move or regain one's balance.
    • Robert yanked Connie's leg vigorously, causing her to flounder and eventually fall.
  • To act clumsily or confused; to struggle or be flustered.
  • * Sir W. Hamilton
    • They have floundered on from blunder to blunder.
    He gave a good speech, but floundered when audience members asked questions he could not answer well.
  • * 1996 , , Virago Press, paperback edition, page 136
    • He is assessing directions, but he is not lost, not floundering .
    Usage notes
    Frequently confused with the verb founder. The difference is one of severity; floundering'' (struggling to maintain a position) comes before ''foundering (losing it completely by falling, sinking or failing).

    References

    English nouns with irregular plurals