twinge /twɪnd͡ʒ/noun 6verb 5forms 4 noun6 •A sudden, pinching or sharp pain in a specific part of the body, especially one lasting for a short time.I got a twinge in my arm. •(figurative) A sudden, sharp feeling of an emotional or mental nature, as of guilt or sadness; a pang, a paroxysm, a throe; also, a prick of the conscience.[T]he VVickedness of this old Villain startles me, and gives me a tvvinge for my ovvn Sin; though it come far short of his: […] — 1681 •(figurative) A sudden, sharp occurrence of something; a nip. •(rare) A turn, a twist."Easy!" exclaimed Arthur, a half-contemptuous twinge in his lip, and added: "I take it that the simple question with me is, what is right, and what is best." — 1860 •(dialect, UK) Synonym of earwig (“insect of the order Dermaptera”). •(no longer used) An act of pulling and twisting; a pinch, a tweak, a twitch.[T]he spirite of Jesus hath (as it were) nipped my herte also with a litell twynge, […] — 1549 verb5 •To have a sudden, pinching or sharp pain in a specific part of the body, like a twitch.My side twinges if I sit too long. •(dialect) To pull and twist. •(no longer used) To affect or torment (someone, their mind, or part of their body) with one or more sudden, pinching or sharp pains; to irritate.The Gnat Charg'd into the Nostrils of the Lyon, and there Tvving'd him, till he made him Tear himself vvith his Ovvn Pavvs. And in the Conclusion he Master'd the Lyon. — 1692 •(figurative, no longer used) To prick or stimulate (one's conscience).[I]f any of his father's old notions of economy by chance twinged his conscience, Belle very judiciously asked how he ever came to think of her for a wife? — 1804 •(dialect, no longer used) To pull and twist (someone or something); to pinch, to tweak, to twitch, to wring.I tell thee, I do vse to teare their hair, to kick them, and to tvvindge their noses, if they be not carefull in auoiding me. — 1606 formstwinged · twingeing · twinging · twinges
