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Writhe vs Tumble - What's the difference?

writhe | tumble |

As verbs the difference between writhe and tumble

is that writhe is to twist, to wring (something) while tumble is (lb) to fall end over end.

As nouns the difference between writhe and tumble

is that writhe is (knot theory) the number of negative crossings subtracted from the number of positive crossings in a knot while tumble is a fall.

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

    tumble

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A fall.
  • I took a tumble down the stairs and broke my tooth.
  • An act of sexual intercourse.
  • * John Betjeman, Group Life: Letchworth
  • Wouldn't it be jolly now, / To take our Aertex panters off / And have a jolly tumble in / The jolly, jolly sun?
  • * 1979 , Martine, Sexual Astrology (page 219)
  • When you've just had a tumble between the sheets and are feeling rumpled and lazy, she may want to get up so she can make the bed.

    Derived terms

    * rough and tumble * take a tumble * tumble dryer * tumbler * give a tumble

    Verb

    (tumbl)
  • (lb) To fall end over end.
  • *(Robert South) (1634–1716)
  • *:He who tumbles from a tower surely has a greater blow than he who slides from a molehill.
  • *
  • *:“Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are'' pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling ''à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better.”
  • To perform gymnastics such as somersaults, rolls, and handsprings.
  • :(Rowe)
  • To roll over and over.
  • *1908 , (Kenneth Grahame), (The Wind in the Willows)
  • *:The two animals tumbled over each other in their eagerness to get inside, and heard the door shut behind them with great joy and relief.
  • (lb) To have sexual intercourse.
  • (lb) To smooth and polish a rough surface on relatively small parts.
  • To muss, to make disorderly; to tousle or rumple.
  • :
  • Derived terms

    * tumble to