produced by a distortion or lopsidedness of the facial features: a wry grin.
abnormally bent or turned to one side; twisted; crooked: a wry mouth.
devious in course or purpose; misdirected.
contrary; perverse.
distorted or perverted, as in meaning.
bitterly or disdainfully ironic or amusing: a wry remark.
Origin of wry
1515–25; adj. use of wry to twist, Middle English wryen,Old English wrīgian to go, strive, tend, swerve; cognate with Dutch wrijgen to twist; akin to Old English wrigels,Latin rīcula veil, Greek rhoikós crooked
There are novelty mugs that serve only one purpose—amusement—and then there are those that go a step further and throw in a side of wry practicality.
Home and office products that make sure-fire gifts|PopSci Commerce Team|October 8, 2020|Popular Science
Making sense of her life on the page, deploying raw emotion alongside humor and wry mischief, has long been a Bechdel pursuit.
Alison Bechdel: Genius to Watch Out For|Tim Teeman|September 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The quick-cut trailer suggests a soft-core romp with dramatic intrigue and wry one-liners.
French Political Sex Movie About DSK Sets Cannes Aquiver|Tracy McNicoll|May 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I looked at parts of it," he says, adding with wry self-deprecation, "I didn't see much benefit in comparing myself to Marlon.
New York’s Greatest Show Or How They Did Not Screw Up ‘Guys and Dolls’|Ross Wetzsteon|April 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her wry, progressive grandmother Oleanna Redwyne (Diana Rigg)—the real power behind the House Tyrell.
Will Season 4 Make ‘Game of Thrones’ the Best Fantasy Show Ever?|Andrew Romano|April 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But Beard was, as Beard would have put it, "wry," which is the word people like Beard use when they mean funny.
Doug Kenney: The Odd Comic Genius Behind ‘Animal House’ and National Lampoon|Robert Sam Anson|March 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The sunburnt face, puckered with a wry wistfulness, was only comic in its incongruous coat of grease.
No Hero|E.W. Hornung
"That is very good advice," said Anders with a wry face, as he plucked some moss to stanch the wound in his arm.
Days of the Discoverers|L. Lamprey
The playwright gave Mainhall a curious look out of his deep-set faded eyes and made a wry face.
Alexander's Bridge and The Barrel Organ|Willa Cather and Alfred Noyes
When we move our hands, even when we close the mouth or the eyes, or make a wry face, we use the muscles.
First Book in Physiology and Hygiene|J.H. Kellogg
But it was always answered with a wry face, and the hymn went on.
A Confederate Girl's Diary|Sarah Margan Dawson
British Dictionary definitions for wry
wry
/ (raɪ) /
adjectivewrier, wriest, wryerorwryest
twisted, contorted, or askew
(of a facial expression) produced or characterized by contorting of the features, usually indicating dislike
drily humorous; sardonic
warped, misdirected, or perverse
(of words, thoughts, etc) unsuitable or wrong
verbwries, wryingorwried
(tr)to twist or contort
Derived forms of wry
wryly, adverbwryness, noun
Word Origin for wry
C16: from dialect wry to twist, from Old English wrīgian to turn; related to Old Frisian wrīgia to bend, Old Norse riga to move, Middle Low German wrīch bent, stubborn