wrung

Wrung is the past tense and past participle of the verb wring. It describes the action of twisting or squeezing something with force, typically to extract liquid or to distort an object. Common uses include wringing a wet towel to remove water or wringing a cloth dry. The word also appears in figurative use to express extreme emotional pressure, as in “wrung with guilt” or “wrung by grief.”

As an adjective, wrung refers to something that has been subjected to wringing, such as wrung-out clothing. In idiomatic phrases, “to wring someone’s neck” conveys a violent impulse of twisting the neck, and expressions like “wrung with” or “wrung by” convey distress or pain.

Origin and etymology: wring comes from Old English wringan, meaning to twist or wind, with cognates in Dutch wringen and German wringen. The form wrung is the irregular past participle, reflecting the verb’s strong-verb heritage.

See also: wringing, neck-wringing, wring.