twinge
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
to affect (the body or mind) with a sudden, sharp pain or pang.
-
to pinch; tweak; twitch.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
a sudden brief darting or stabbing pain
-
a sharp emotional pang
a twinge of guilt
verb
-
to have or cause to have a twinge
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obsolete (tr) to pinch; tweak
Etymology
Origin of twinge
before 1000; Middle English twengen to pinch, Old English twengan
Explanation
A twinge is a sting or pang of pain that happens suddenly. Are you recovering from a basketball injury? You may still feel a twinge of discomfort in your knee when you do a layup. You can experience a physically painful twinge, but there are also twinges that are more emotional, like the twinge of sadness you feel when you look at photos of your old house. Use this word as a verb, too, if you like: "Did your shoulders twinge when you gave your little brother a piggyback ride?" Long ago, to twinge meant to pinch, and the word's origin traces back to the Old English twengan, "to pinch."
Vocabulary lists containing twinge
That Hurts! Synonyms for "Pain"
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Starfish
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Keep It Together, Keiko Carter
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When we are out of sync, he says, we experience it as a kind of judder or twinge of social discomfort which “is your brain working a little harder to fix predictions that are wrong.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026
But I also found comfort in the idea that it was a possibility—and a twinge of anger toward the many gynecologists I had seen who had never mentioned it as one.
From Slate • Aug. 23, 2024
Even if it was only a twinge, it was enough for the Rams to shut down Stafford.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2024
Vance may have refused to engage with her mental health, but at least a twinge of his love for her shone through in the book.
From Salon • Jul. 20, 2024
But its beating held a twinge of fear, as well.
From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
