Meanings
present singular third person twists the knife · participle present twisting the knife · participle past twisted the knife · past twisted the knife · alternative turn the knife · alternative twist the knife in the wound · alternative turn the knife in the wound
- figurativelyinformalTo deliberately do or say something to worsen a difficult situation or increase a person's distress, irritation, or anger.
"And I'm not seeing anyone," she added, just to twist the knife — in whom, she wasn't sure.
2009, Lucy Dillon, Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts, Berkley, published 2011, →ISBN, page 198Synonyms: kick someone when they are down, rub salt in the wound
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo deliberately do or say something to worsen a difficult situation or increase a person's distress, irritation, or anger.
Origin
Derived from the fact that the act of literally twisting a knife that is still inside someone who has just been stabbed will widen the wound and make it even more painful.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish vääntää veistä haavassa
- vääntää veistä haavassaTranslations
French remuer le couteau dans la plaie
- remuer le couteau dans la plaieTranslations
Italian girare il coltello nella piaga
- girare il coltello nella piagaTranslations
Polish pogarszać, pogarszyć
- pogarszaćTranslations
- pogarszyćTranslations
Spanish hacer sangre
- hacer sangreTranslations
Cite this entry
twist the knife. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/twist%20the%20knife
“twist the knife.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/twist%20the%20knife. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “twist the knife,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/twist%20the%20knife.
Source: twist the knife on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.