Adjacent Words

Twinge definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TWINGE, v.t. twinj.
1. To affect with a sharp sudden pain; to torment with pinching or sharp pains.
The gnat twinged the lion till he made him tear himself, and so he mastered him.
2. To pinch; to tweak; to pull with a jerk; as, to twinge one by the ears and nose.
TWINGE, v.t. twinj. to have a sudden, sharp, local pain, like a twitch; to suffer a keen spasmodic or shooting pain; as, the side twinges. [This is the sense in which this word is generally used within the limits of my acquaintance.
TWINGE, n. twinj. A sudden sharp pain; a darting local pain of momentary continuance; as a twinge in the arm or side.
1. A sharp rebuke of conscience.
2. A pinch; a tweak; as a twinge of the ear.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a sudden sharp feeling; "pangs of regret"; "she felt a stab of excitement"; "twinges of conscience" [syn: pang, stab, twinge]
2: a sharp stab of pain v
1: cause a stinging pain; "The needle pricked his skin" [syn: prick, sting, twinge]
2: feel a sudden sharp, local pain
3: squeeze tightly between the fingers; "He pinched her behind"; "She squeezed the bottle" [syn: pinch, squeeze, twinge, tweet, nip, twitch]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (twinged; twinging or twingeing) Etymology: Middle English twengen, from Old English twengan; akin to Old High German zwengen to pinch Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. dialect pluck, tweak 2. to affect with a sharp pain or pang intransitive verb to feel a sudden sharp local pain II. noun Date: 1608 1. a sudden sharp stab of pain 2. a moral or emotional pang <a twinge of conscience> <a twinge of sympathy>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. a sharp momentary local pain or pang (a twinge of toothache; a twinge of conscience). --v.intr. & tr. experience or cause to experience a twinge. Etymology: twinge (v.) pinch, wring f. OE twengan f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Twinge Twinge, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Twinged; p. pr. & vb. n. Twinging.] [OE. twengen, AS. twengan; akin to OE. twingen to pain, afflict, OFries. thwinga, twinga, dwinga, to constrain, D. dwingen, OS. thwingan, G. zwingen, OHG. dwingan, thwingan, to press, oppress, overcome, Icel. [thorn]vinga, Sw. tvinga to subdue, constrain, Dan. twinge, and AS. [thorn]["u]n to press, OHG. d[=u]hen, and probably to E. thong. Perhaps influenced by twitch. Cf. Thong.] 1. To pull with a twitch; to pinch; to tweak. When a man is past his sense, There's no way to reduce him thence, But twinging him by the ears or nose, Or laying on of heavy blows. --Hudibras. 2. To affect with a sharp, sudden pain; to torment with pinching or sharp pains. The gnat . . . twinged him [the lion] till he made him tear himself, and so mastered him. --L'Estrange.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Twinge Twinge, v. i. To have a sudden, sharp, local pain, like a twitch; to suffer a keen, darting, or shooting pain; as, the side twinges.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Twinge Twinge, n. 1. A pinch; a tweak; a twitch. A master that gives you . . . twinges by the ears. --L' Estrange. 2. A sudden sharp pain; a darting local pain of momentary continuance; as, a twinge in the arm or side. `` A twinge for my own sin.'' --Dryden.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(twinges) 1. A twinge is a sudden sharp feeling or emotion, usually an unpleasant one. For a moment, Arnold felt a twinge of sympathy for Mr Wilson. = pang N-COUNT: with supp, usu N of n 2. A twinge is a sudden sharp pain. He felt a slight twinge in his damaged hamstring. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Tweak, twitch, pinch, pull rudely. II. n. 1. Pinch, tweak, twitch. 2. Gripe, pang, sharp pain.

Moby Thesaurus

ache, acute pain, agonize, ail, anguish, bite, blanch, blench, boring pain, charley horse, cramp, cramps, crick, darting pain, feel pain, feel the pangs, fulgurant pain, girdle pain, gnawing, grimace, gripe, griping, have a misery, hitch, hurt, jumping pain, kink, lancinating pain, misery, nip, pain, pang, paroxysm, pinch, pound, prick, seizure, sharp pain, shoot, shooting, shooting pain, shrink, smart, spasm, stab, stabbing pain, stitch, suffer, thrill, throb, throes, tingle, tormen, tweak, twitch, wince, wrench, writhe