Verb (5-dan, る, transitive)
Usually written in kana
1. to twist; to wrench; to turn (a tap, switch, etc.)
壁際に寄り、ラジオのスイッチをひねる。I go over to the wall and turn the radio's switch.
2. to twist (a body part); to bend; to sprain
必死に体をひねった。I desperately twisted my body.
3. to strangle (to death); to wring (an animal's neck)
祖母は庭の鶏をひねって、料理してくれた。My grandmother wrung the neck of one of our chickens and cooked it for us.
4. to defeat easily; to beat
5. to make (a problem, design, etc.) intricate; to make peculiar; to make complicated
傲慢な男ほど、おのれの趣味をひねりたがるようである。The more arrogant a man is, the more he seems to want to make his own tastes peculiar.
6. to manage to compose (a haiku, song, etc.)
7. to wrap (a monetary gift) in paper