- wind
- wind, breeze, gale, hurricane, zephyr are comparable rather than synonymous terms that can all basically mean air in motion. Wind is the general term referable to any sort of natural motion whatever its degree of velocity or of force{
a strong wind
}{there is no wind tonight
}Breeze in general use is applied to relatively light but fresh wind, usually a pleasant or welcome one{the fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, the furrow followed free— Coleridge
}In technical meteorological use the term specifically denotes a wind with a velocity of from 4 to 31 miles an hour. Breezes are sometimes further described as light (4-7 miles an hour), gentle (8-12), moderate (13-18), fresh (19-24), strong (25-31).Gale in ordinary use is applied to a high, destructive wind of considerable velocity and force; technically the term is applied specifically to a wind between 32 and 63 miles an hour; a whole gale is one having a velocity between 55 and 63 miles an hour.Hurricane is sometimes applied popularly to an exceedingly violent or devastating windstorm but technically the term denotes a rotating windstorm with winds of particular velocities (see also WHIRLWIND).Zephyr is a poetical term for a very light gentle breeze that delicately touches objects{fair laughs the morn, and soft the zephyr blows— Gray
}Analogous words: *whirlwind, cyclone, typhoon, tornado, twisterwind vb Wind, coil, curl, twist, twine, wreathe, entwine mean to follow a circular, spiral, or writhing course or to make or form a corresponding figure.Wind fundamentally implies an axis or something suggestive of an axis around which another thing is turned so as to encircle, enclose, or enfold{wind thread on a spool
}{wind a bandage around his arm
}Often the word is extended in meaning to imply a result accomplished (as tightening, tensing, or lifting)by or as if by winding{wind a watch
}{wind the strings of a mandolin
}{her nerves are all wound up
}{wound up his affairs
}At other times the word implies movement or direction in a curving, sinuous, or devious manner (compare WINDING){the road ... wound on between low, quickset hedges or wooden palings— Mackenzie
}{a wagon . .. light enough and narrow enough to wind through the mountain gorges beyond Pueblo— Cather
}Coil implies a curving so as to take the form of a spiral, often a flat spiral; it is used chiefly in reference to something (as a rope, a wire, a hose, or a snake) which is wound or winds itself in such a manner{ropes coiled on the deck and everything shipshape
}{coil the hose before putting it away
}{the snake coiled itself to strike
}Curl basically implies the formation of the hair into large or small ringlets either by nature or by art; in extended use it is applied to something that forms itself or is formed into a curl or coil{icurled his lip in disgust
}{tree leaves curled by drought
}{the smoke curled up from the chimney
}{the dog curled itself up on the sofa
}{shavings curled by the plane
}{huge waves with crests curling over as they broke on the beach
}Twist and twine can both refer to a step in the process of spinning or throwing in which two or more filaments are turned about each other to form yarn or thread.Twist retains this or a similar sense in more general use{form a cable by twisting several folds of wire together
}Often in its extended senses twist implies a turning this way and that, a sudden turning around, a contorting, or a distorting{twisted his ankle when he fell
}{caught the ball, twisted to avoid a tackier, then ran ten yards to a touchdown
}{a sluggish stream twisting and turning through the meadowland
}{twist the testimony of the witness so as to give it a new significance
}Twine has nearly lost its implication of a mechanical process and usually emphasizes a winding around something by another thing which is flexible{let me twine mine arms about that body— Shak.
}{let wreaths of triumph now my temples twine— Pope
}{the bucket and rope had been encircled by twining tendrils of convolvulus— Binyon
}Wreathe may come close to coil, twist, or wind{about his neck a green and gilded snake had wreathed itself— Shak.
}{therefore ... are we wreathing a flowery band to bind us to the earth— Keats
}{the smoke from his pipe wreathing about his head
}Entwine usually implies a twisting together (as two or more similar things)and it often suggests the idea of interweaving, interlacing, or entangling{the lamp base looks like two snakes entwined
}{the branches of the bushes were so thoroughly entwined that passage was impossible
}But the word may imply nothing more than a winding about{entwine the lampposts with Christmas greens
}
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.