writhe > define

verb

• To move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling. )
  • usage: "The prisoner writhed in discomfort"; "The child tried to wriggle free from his aunt's embrace"
  • synonyms: wrestle, wriggle, worm, squirm, twist

• (v.i.) To twist or contort the body; to be distorted; as, to writhe with agony. Also used figuratively.
• (v.t.) To extort; to wring; to wrest.
• (v.t.) To wrest; to distort; to pervert.
• (v.t.) To twist; to turn; now, usually, to twist or turn so as to distort; to wring.