# wry

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ɹaɪ/ · frequency rank #34,751

## Definitions
1. Turned away, contorted (of the face or body).
2. Dryly humorous; sardonic or bitterly ironic.
3. Twisted, bent, crooked.
4. Deviating from the right direction; misdirected; out of place.

## Etymology
From Middle English wrien, from Old English wrīġian (“to go, turn, twist, bend, strive, struggle, press forward, endeavor, venture”), from Proto-Germanic *wrigōną (“to wriggle”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyḱ- (“to turn, wrap, tie”), from *wer- (“to turn, bend”). Compare awry, wriggle.

## Easily confused with
- **Wu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-wu)
- **wt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-wt)
- **WS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-ws)
- **WV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-wv)
- **wy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-wy)
- **WTF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-wtf)
- **WWE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-wwe)
- **WWW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-www)
- **WTO** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-wto)
- **WWF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-wwf)
- **wut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-wut)
- **WSJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-wsj)
- **WTH** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-wth)
- **WTC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-wtc)
- **wye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-wye)
- **WSU** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-wsu)
- **WYO** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wry-vs-wyo)
- **w** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/w-vs-wry)
- **we** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/we-vs-wry)
- **WA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wa-vs-wry)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wry