twist
/twist/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- A turning or rotating motion: The act of turning something around its own axis or changing its direction.
- A bend or curve: A part of something that is not straight, such as in a road or path.
- A sudden, sharp strain on a muscle or ligament: An injury caused by turning a joint beyond its normal range.
- A clever or deceptive maneuver: A particular way of doing something that is often ingenious or tricky.
- An unexpected change in a situation: An unforeseen development that alters the course of events.
- A particular interpretation or slant: A way of presenting information that gives it a specific, often biased, meaning.
Verb:
- To turn or rotate something: To cause something to move in a circular motion or change direction.
- To bend or curve something out of its normal shape: To force something into a spiral or angled form.
- To injure a body part by turning it sharply: To sprain or wrench a joint like an ankle or wrist.
- To move in a winding or contorted path: To follow a course with many turns and bends.
- To distort the meaning of something: To change or misrepresent facts, words, or information.
- To form something by winding strands together: To interweave threads, hair, or other materials.
Examples of Usage
Noun:
- With a quick twist of the wrist, he opened the jar.
- The mountain road is full of sharp twists and turns.
- He suffered a painful twist in his knee during the game.
- The movie's plot had an unexpected twist at the end.
- She gave the facts a cynical twist in her report.
Verb:
- You need to twist the knob to the right to lock the door.
- He can twist a balloon into the shape of a dog.
- Be careful not to twist your ankle on the uneven ground.
- The river twists through the valley before reaching the sea.
- Politicians often twist their opponents' words.
- She learned to twist her hair into a perfect braid.
Advanced Usage
"A twist of fate": An unexpected and often significant change in circumstances.
- By a strange twist of fate, they ended up working in the same office.
"To twist someone's arm": To persuade or pressure someone to do something they might not want to do.
- I didn't want to go, but he twisted my arm.
"To twist in the wind": To be left in a difficult or vulnerable situation without support.
- After the scandal, the minister was left to twist in the wind by his party.
Variants and Related Words
Twisted (adj): Bent or coiled out of shape; also used metaphorically to mean morally corrupt or perverse.
- The tree's branches were twisted by the strong winds.
- He has a twisted sense of humor.
Twisty (adj): Having many bends or curves.
- The twisty path made the hike more challenging.
Twister (n): Informal term for a tornado; also something that twists.
- A twister touched down south of town.
Synonyms
- Bend: To curve or flex something.
- Wrench: To twist or pull something violently.
- Distort: To change the shape or meaning of something, often for deception.
- Wind: To follow a curving or spiral course.
- Coil: To form something into a series of loops.
Related Phrasal Verbs
Twist around: To turn something so it faces a different direction; to confuse facts.
- She twisted the mirror around to get a better view.
- The story got completely twisted around as it was passed on.
Twist off: To remove something by turning it.
- He twisted the bottle cap off.
Twist up: To become tangled or contorted; to cause emotional distress.
- The wires are all twisted up.
- The sad news twisted her up inside.
Related Idioms
"Round the twist" (British informal): Crazy or insane.
- All this noise is driving me round the twist.
"To get one's knickers in a twist": To become overly upset or agitated about something.
- Don't get your knickers in a twist; we'll solve the problem.
Noun
- turning or twisting around (in place)
- with a quick twist of his head he surveyed the room
- the act of winding or twisting
- he put the key in the old clock and gave it a good wind
- social dancing in which couples vigorously twist their hips and arms in time to the music; was popular in the 1960s
- they liked to dance the twist
- a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair
- a jerky pulling movement
- a miniature whirlpool or whirlwind resulting when the current of a fluid doubles back on itself
- a circular segment of a curve
- a bend in the road
- a crook in the path
- a sharp bend in a line produced when a line having a loop is pulled tight
- a sharp strain on muscles or ligaments
- the wrench to his knee occurred as he fell
- he was sidelined with a hamstring pull
- the act of rotating rapidly
- he gave the crank a spin
- it broke off after much twisting
- any clever maneuver
- he would stoop to any device to win a point
- it was a great sales gimmick
- a cheap promotions gimmick for greedy businessmen
- an interpretation of a text or action
- they put an unsympathetic construction on his conduct
- an unforeseen development
- events suddenly took an awkward turn
Verb
- twist suddenly so as to sprain
- wrench one's ankle
- The wrestler twisted his shoulder
- the hikers sprained their ankles when they fell
- I turned my ankle and couldn't walk for several days
- practice sophistry; change the meaning of or be vague about in order to mislead or deceive
- Don't twist my words
- twist or pull violently or suddenly, especially so as to remove (something) from that to which it is attached or from where it originates
- wrench a window off its hinges
- wrench oneself free from somebody's grip
- a deep sigh was wrenched from his chest
- do the twist
- extend in curves and turns
- The road winds around the lake
- the path twisted through the forest
- form into twists
- Twist the strips of dough
- form into a spiral shape
- The cord is all twisted
- turn in the opposite direction
- twist one's head
- cause (a plastic object) to assume a crooked or angular form
- bend the rod
- twist the dough into a braid
- the strong man could turn an iron bar
- to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling)
- The prisoner writhed in discomfort
- The child tried to wriggle free from his aunt's embrace