verb

1 of 60

Other / Slowly

wend - To move slowly using an indirect route.

The hikers would wend their way across the rough terrain over the course of a day.

verb

2 of 60

Bad / Aggressive

wrangle - To have a long and complicated dispute

Even after a year, the senators wrangled over the health-care legislation.

noun

3 of 60

Bad / Afraid

willies - A strong feeling of nervous apprehension and discomfort

Inside the abandoned house, the slightest sound gave Hannah the willies.

noun

4 of 60

Good / Big

whopper - A thing that is extremely or unusually large

Weighing in at 30 pounds and containing thousands of pages, the ancient book would be considered a whopper by today's standards.

noun

5 of 60

Bad / Powerless

wimp - A weak and cowardly or unadventurous person

Randy wanted to impress girls at the beach, but being a skinny wimp prevented him from doing so.

noun

6 of 60

Bad / Uncomfortable

wheeze - To breathe loudly and with difficulty

Louise would wheeze so much that she had to use her inhaler right away.

noun

7 of 60

Good / Smart

wonk - A person who takes an excessive interest in minor details of political policy

Rachel Maddow is a policy wonk on TV who walks her audience through the minor details of legislation and current events.

verb

8 of 60

Other / Entice

wheedle - To use flattery and deceptive words to persuade someone to do something or give one something

Patty knew Renee had been working late, so she wheedled the last bit of work out of her by praising her performance.

verb

9 of 60

Bad / Pain

wince - To give a slight involuntary grimace or shrinking movement of the body out of or in anticipation of pain or distress

Tiger winced as he realized he had hit the ball too far beyond the hole.

verb

10 of 60

Bad / Weak

wither - (of a plant) To become dry and shriveled

The plant withered and died after Mona forgot to water and feed it.

verb

See noun

11 of 60

Bad / Unhappy

whimper - (of a person or animal) make a series of low, feeble sounds expressive of fear, pain, or discontent

The dog whimpered all day while its owner was away at work.

verb

12 of 60

Other / Fast

whisk - To take or move someone or something in a particular direction suddenly and quickly

After the size of the crowd presented a danger to the prime minister, a police officer whisked him to safety.

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