wreathe

[ reeth ]

verb (used with object)

, wreathed; wreathed or (Archaic) wreath·en; wreath·ing.

1. to encircle or adorn with or as with a wreath.
2. to form as a wreath by twisting or twining.
3. to surround in curving or curling masses or form.
4. to envelop:

   a face wreathed in smiles.

verb (used without object)

, wreathed; wreathed or (Archaic) wreath·en; wreath·ing.

1. to take the form of a wreath or wreaths.
2. to move in curving or curling masses, as smoke.

wreathe

/ riːð /

verb

1. to form into or take the form of a wreath by intertwining or twisting together
2. tr to decorate, crown, or encircle with wreaths
3. to move or cause to move in a twisting way

   smoke wreathed up to the ceiling

Other Words From

• wreather noun
• inter·wreathe verb interwreathed interwreathing

Word History and Origins

Origin of wreathe¹

1520–30; earlier wrethe, partly v. use of wreath, partly back formation from wrethen, obsolete past participle of writhe

Word History and Origins

Origin of wreathe¹

C16: perhaps back formation from wrēthen, from Old English writhen, past participle of wrīthan to writhe ; see wreath

Example Sentences

Rescue workers, wreathed in smoke, stood by a pair of excavators digging through a mountain of rubble — the wreckage of an eight-story, 16-apartment building.

From Los Angeles Times

The crosses throughout a bizarre realm wreathed in shadow mark sites where he has shed his corporeal flesh.

From New York Times

At the sound of a gunshot, a performer, wreathed in white silks, tumbles from the ceiling.

From New York Times

The nicotine inside comes wreathed in a “strawberry kiwi” flavor.

From New York Times

Across the valley, Mount Stuart is wreathed in clouds.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• braid
• careen
• compose
• construct
• create
• entwine
• fabricate
• fold
• fuse
• incorporate
• intertwine
• introduce
• knit
• loop
• mesh
• sew
• snake
• spin
• splice
• twist