wreathe

2 antonyms for wreathe — opposites grouped by meaning.

Verb — To twist or coil something, especially into the shape of a wreath.

Synonyms by Meaning

1. verb literary

To twist or coil something, especially into the shape of a wreath.

“She wreathed ivy around the old trellis.”

entwine coil twist

Opposites

uncoil untwist

2. verb literary

To surround or cover something, often used in the passive to describe mist, smoke or similar things curling around an object.

“The hills were wreathed in early morning mist.”

enshroud envelop surround

Antonyms

uncoil untwist

How to use wreathe

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

wreathed in mist wreathed in smoke wreathe flowers wreathe ivy around

Wreathe is a fairly literary word, more common in descriptive writing than in everyday speech.

Etymology

Wreathe comes from the Middle English verb wrethen, meaning to twist, which itself grew out of an Old English verb meaning to twist, bind or wrap. The word also absorbed an Old English noun for a coiled or ring-shaped band, the ancestor of the modern noun wreath, so the verb has always carried the idea of coiling somet...

Full origin of wreathe →

Frequently asked questions

What does wreathe mean?

To wreathe something is to twist or coil it, often into a ring or loop shape, or to surround something completely, as mist might wreathe a hillside.

Is wreathe related to the word wreath?

Yes, wreathe and wreath share the same Old English root meaning a twisted or coiled band, which is why a wreath is a ring made by twisting materials together.

How is wreathe pronounced?

It is pronounced REETH, rhyming with the word breathe, with a voiced th sound at the end.

People also searched

twist surround coil enshroud uncoil entwine envelop

Nearby words

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