What's the difference between why and wry?

Why


Definition:

  • (adv.) For what cause, reason, or purpose; on what account; wherefore; -- used interrogatively. See the Note under What, pron., 1.
  • (adv.) For which; on account of which; -- used relatively.
  • (adv.) The reason or cause for which; that on account of which; on what account; as, I know not why he left town so suddenly; -- used as a compound relative.
  • (n.) A young heifer.

Example Sentences:

Wry


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To cover.
  • (superl.) Turned to one side; twisted; distorted; as, a wry mouth.
  • (superl.) Hence, deviating from the right direction; misdirected; out of place; as, wry words.
  • (superl.) Wrested; perverted.
  • (v. i.) To twist; to writhe; to bend or wind.
  • (v. i.) To deviate from the right way; to go away or astray; to turn side; to swerve.
  • (a.) To twist; to distort; to writhe; to wrest; to vex.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) When I commiserate about the overnight flight that brought them here, Linney gives a wry grimace.
  • (2) The image was widely shared online and taken as a wry comment on pictures of Donald Trump’s all-male Oval Office team.
  • (3) Putin could have been forgiven for allowing himself a wry grin, as another court comprehensively trashed Berezovsky's reputation.
  • (4) No wry observations or whoops-a-daisy trombones to subvert the conceit for period lolz.
  • (5) She frequently talks about herself as an object of wry or amused discovery.
  • (6) It was described as the "Twitter revolution" , but almost a year on from Iran's disputed presidential elections, during which the use of social media by the opposition movement made headlines around the world, such claims prompt wry smiles from seasoned observers.
  • (7) Enigmatic and elusive, they may have named themselves after the US video director because they enjoy his work, or it may be a wry comment on something or other.
  • (8) Franzen did seem to have a certain sense of humour about himself, and in person has a wry, awkward charm.
  • (9) Coal plants are the most polluting of all power stations and the World Resources Institute (WRI) identified 1,200 coal plants in planning across 59 countries, with about three-quarters in China and India.
  • (10) The cover art for the Cranberries' Bury the Hatchet (1999) was an evocation of paranoia – a giant eye bearing down on a crouching figure – that did neither band nor artist many favours; his image for Muse's Black Holes and Revelations (2006) amounted to a thin revival of his work for the Floyd that, if you were being generous, suggested a wry comment on that band's unconvincing attempts to revive the excesses of 1970s progressive rock.
  • (11) He was a nice man, unpretentious and with a wry manner.
  • (12) The secretary of state also made a wry comparison between the bipartisan co-operation underpinning the new Afghan government and the polarised state of American domestic politics.
  • (13) But he is courteous, wry, insightful and very much on the left of his party.
  • (14) "I think I know what's to come," Chua says with a wry smile.
  • (15) "I don't think that Plaid Cymru can overturn world capitalism," she says, with a wry smile.
  • (16) "They were very happy," Wazir recalls with a wry smile.
  • (17) We are seeing a shift in the expansion of tree cover loss to a second tier of smaller countries that traditionally get much less attention from environmental groups.” He added: “These countries are recovering from years of civil conflicts that have made them off limits to investors who are now looking for opportunities – it is a new frontier of investments.” The WRI analysis suggests that a rapidly growing palm oil industry is one of the biggest contributors to the change.
  • (18) Guy Shrubsole, at Friends of the Earth, said of the WRI report: "This is a scary number of coal-fired plants being planned.
  • (19) The WRI report also found that, after a slight dip during the economic troubles of 2008, the global coal trade has rebounded and rose by 13% in 2010.
  • (20) But he is far from being a show-off: 'In fact, he comes over as a modest individual with a wry sense of humour', says a colleague.