 |
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Twitch \Twitch\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Twitched}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Twitching}.] [OE. twicchen, fr. (doubtful) AS. twiccian; akin to AS. angeltwicca a worm used for bait, literally, a hook twitcher, LG. twikken to tweak, G. zwicken. Cf. {Tweak}.] To pull with a sudden jerk; to pluck with a short, quick motion; to snatch; as, to twitch one by the sleeve; to twitch a thing out of another's hand; to twitch off clusters of grapes.
Thrice they twitched the diamond in her ear. --Pope.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Twitch \Twitch\, noun
1. The act of twitching; a pull with a jerk; a short, sudden, quick pull; as, a twitch by the sleeve.
2. A short, spastic contraction of the fibers or muscles; a simple muscular contraction; as, convulsive twitches; a twitch in the side.
3. (Far.) A stick with a hole in one end through which passes a loop, which can be drawn tightly over the upper lip or an ear of a horse. By twisting the stick the compression is made sufficiently painful to keep the animal quiet during a slight surgical operation. --J. H. Walsh.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
twitch
noun: a sudden muscle spasm; especially one caused by a nervous condition [syn: {twitching}, {vellication}]
verb
1: make an uncontrolled, short, jerky motion; "his face is twitching" [syn: {jerk}]
2: move with abrupt, seemingly uncontrolled motions; "The patient's legs were jerkings" [syn: {jerk}]
3: toss with a sharp movement so as to cause to turn over in the air [syn: {flip}]
4: squeeze tightly between the fingers; "He pinched her behind"; "She squeezed the bottle" [syn: {pinch}, {squeeze}, {twinge}, {tweet}, {nip}]
5: move or pull with a sudden motion
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
153 Moby Thesaurus words for "twitch": ache, acute pain, agonize, ail, anguish, bite, blanch, blench, bob, bobble, boring pain, bounce, breath, bump, charley horse, clutch, coup, crack, cramp, cramps, crick, darting pain, didder, dither, falter, feel pain, feel the pangs, fidget, flash, flick, flip, flip out, flirt, flounce, flutter, freak out on, fulgurant pain, get high on, girdle pain, glow, gnawing, go pitapat, grasp, grimace, griping, half a jiffy, half a mo, half a second, half a shake, have a misery, have the fidgets, have the shakes, heave, hitch, hurt, instant, itch, jar, jerk, jiff, jiffy, jig, jigger, jigget, jiggle, jog, joggle, jolt, jostle, jumping pain, kink, lancinating pain, lug, lurch, microsecond, millisecond, minute, moment, nip, palpitate, pang, pant, paroxysm, pinch, pluck, pound, prick, quake, quaver, quiver, rictus, sec, second, seizure, shake, sharp pain, shiver, shock, shoot, shooting, shooting pain, shrink, shudder, smart, snake, snap, snatch, spasm, split second, squirm, stab, stabbing pain, start, stitch, stroke, sudden pull, suffer, swell, swell with emotion, thrill, thrill to, throb, throes, tic, tick, tingle, tingle with excitement, tormen, toss, toss and turn, tremble, tremor, trice, tumble, turn on to, tweak, twinge, twink, twinkle, twinkling, twist and turn, twitter, two shakes, vellicate, wiggle, wince, wink, wobble, wrench, wriggle, writhe, yank, yerk
 |
Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |