wound
wound
Pronunciation
The word "wound" has two distinct pronunciations depending on its meaning.
As in an injury: /wuːnd/
As the past tense of "to wind": /waʊnd/
Syllable & Sound Breakdown
The word "wound" is a single syllable.
Pronunciation: /wuːnd/ (injury)
/w/: A voiced sound made by rounding the lips and raising the back of the tongue, as in "water."
/uː/: A long vowel sound, like the "oo" in "moon."
/n/: A voiced sound made by placing the tip of the tongue against the ridge behind the top teeth and letting air pass through the nose, as in "nice."
/d/: A voiced sound made by tapping the tip of the tongue against the ridge behind the top teeth, as in "dog."
Pronunciation: /waʊnd/ (past tense of wind)
/w/: The same initial sound as above, as in "water."
/aʊ/: A diphthong, or a two-part vowel sound, that glides from an "ah" sound to an "oo" sound, as in "cow" or "house."
/n/: The same sound as above, as in "nice."
/d/: The same final sound as above, as in "dog."
Word Form Variations
Noun: wound (singular), wounds (plural)
Verb (to injure): wound (base), wounds (third-person singular present), wounded (past tense & past participle), wounding (present participle/gerund)
Verb (to coil/twist): wind (base), winds (third-person singular present), wound (past tense & past participle), winding (present participle/gerund)
Adjective: wounded (describes someone/something that has been injured)
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
(pronounced /wuːnd/)
A physical injury, especially one where the skin is broken or cut.
Synonyms: injury, gash, lesion, trauma, laceration
Antonyms: healing, soundness, integrity
An emotional injury or painful experience that causes lasting distress. 💔
Synonyms: trauma, hurt, slight, grievance, offense
Antonyms: comfort, solace, joy, healing
Verb
(pronounced /wuːnd/)
To inflict a physical injury upon someone or something.
Synonyms: injure, harm, hurt, cut, pierce
Antonyms: heal, mend, cure, soothe
To cause emotional pain or offense to someone.
Synonyms: offend, hurt, slight, distress, insult
Antonyms: comfort, praise, please, compliment
Verb (Past Tense)
(pronounced /waʊnd/)
The past tense and past participle of wind; to have coiled or wrapped something around an object or itself.
Synonyms: coiled, twisted, wrapped, entwined
Antonyms: unwound, uncoiled, straightened
The past tense and past participle of wind; to have moved along a twisting or curving path. serpentine.
Synonyms: meandered, snaked, twisted, curved
Antonyms: straightened, proceeded directly
Examples of Use
Here are several real-world examples of how the word "wound" is used in its different forms and contexts.
As a Noun (/wuːnd/): Injury
In Literature: "The chief’s eye flashed; his spear sped forward. Ralph screamed, a scream of fright and anger and pain. For a moment he had a heartbeat of terror that the spear-point might challenge the savage mystery of the jungle and sink in him. He swerved, feeling the sharp pain of a flung spear in his side. He felt the point of the spear with his hand and the sticky blood, and was amazed to see that the wound was only skin-deep." (William Golding, Lord of the Flies)
In News Media: "First responders treated a man for a minor gunshot wound to the arm before transporting him to a local hospital in stable condition." (Chicago Tribune, September 2025)
In Entertainment (Film): In the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Elrond examines Frodo's injury from a Morgul-blade and states, "The wound is deep, and the blade's tip remains. It is working its way toward his heart."
In Public Discourse: "After the fall, I had to go to urgent care to get the wound on my forehead properly cleaned and stitched up."
As a Noun (/wuːnd/): Emotional Trauma
In Online Publications: "Childhood trauma can create an emotional wound that, if left unaddressed, affects a person's relationships and self-worth well into adulthood." (Psychology Today, October 2025)
In Music: "You ask me if I'm happy now, that's a good one, man / You're looking at a man who's got the world in his hands / But the wounds are getting deeper." (A Great Big World, "Say Something")
In Public Discourse: "The community is still trying to heal from the deep wound left by the factory's sudden closure and the loss of so many jobs."
As a Verb (/wuːnd/): To Injure
In Historical Texts: "Many on both sides were wounded in the battle, and the makeshift field hospitals were quickly overwhelmed." (Ken Burns, The Civil War)
In News Media: "A police spokesperson confirmed that the suspect was wounded during the exchange of fire and is now in custody." (Reuters, October 2025)
In Public Discourse (Figurative): "Her sharp, critical comments about his project deeply wounded his pride."
As a Verb (/waʊnd/): Past Tense of "to Wind"
In Literature: "The road wound ahead of them, disappearing into the dark woods that bordered the estate." (Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca)
In Entertainment (Television): "In the documentary, archival footage showed workers as they wound copper wire tightly around the armature of an early electric motor." (PBS, American Experience)
In Public Discourse:
"Before we left, she wound the old grandfather clock in the hallway."
"He wound the bandage securely around his sprained ankle to give it support."
"The pitcher wound up and delivered a perfect fastball right over the plate."
10 Famous Quotes Using Wound
The wound is the place where the Light enters you. (Rumi)
He jests at scars that never felt a wound. (William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet)
Let us bind up the nation's wounds. (Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address)
Time heals all wounds. (Proverb)
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. (Proverbs 27:6, King James Bible)
The deeper the wound, the more private the pain. (Isabel Allende)
The tongue is a sharp instrument, and a wound it makes is not easily healed. (Sophocles)
A scar is a healing; after a wound is healed, a scar remains. (Rose Kennedy)
For the arrows of the heart are holy arrows; and the wounds they make are holy wounds. (C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves)
For a secret wound needs a secret salve. (Thomas Fuller)
Etymology
The word "wound" is actually two entirely different words with separate origins that, through the evolution of English, coincidentally ended up with the same spelling.
1. Wound: The Injury (/wuːnd/)
This is the older and more direct of the two.
First Known Use & Meaning: The story of this word begins in the ancient languages of Northern Europe. Its earliest ancestor we can trace is a Proto-Germanic word, something like *wundō. This word existed long before English was a distinct language and meant exactly what it sounds like: an injury, a cut, or a sore.
How It Became "Wound": As Germanic tribes settled in Britain, they brought this word with them. In Old English (the language of the Anglo-Saxons), it was written as wund. For over a thousand years, the meaning has barely changed. A wund to an Anglo-Saxon warrior is the same as a wound to a modern person. It's a remarkable example of a word that has remained stable in both its meaning and basic sound throughout the entire history of English.
2. Wound: The Past Tense of "Wind" (/waʊnd/)
This word's history is about action and grammar rather than injury.
First Known Use & Meaning: This word comes from a different Proto-Germanic root, *windaną, which meant "to twist, to turn, or to coil." This is the ancestor of modern English words like "wind," "wend," and "wander." In Old English, this verb was windan (pronounced "win-dan").
How It Became "Wound": Windan was what is known as a "strong verb." Unlike "weak verbs" where we just add "-ed" for the past tense (like walk -> walked), strong verbs change their internal vowel. Think of modern examples like sing -> sang or swim -> swam.
In Old English, the past tense of windan was wand. Over centuries, as English pronunciation and spelling shifted (a process known as the Great Vowel Shift), this past tense form evolved into the modern wound. It was a grammatical accident of language evolution that it ended up spelled identically to the word for an injury.
In short, one "wound" has always meant an injury. The other "wound" is just what happens when you take the action of "winding" something and put it in the past tense.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Wound
To lick one's wounds: To spend time recovering from a defeat, failure, or humiliation.
To rub salt in the wound: To deliberately make someone's bad situation or painful feelings even worse.
Time heals all wounds: A proverb meaning that feelings of sadness, grief, or anger will fade with the passage of time.
To twist the knife in the wound: To intentionally say or do something to worsen someone's pain or distress.
Old wounds: Past emotional hurts, grievances, or traumas that are brought up again.
A mortal wound: An injury or setback so severe that it will inevitably lead to death or complete failure.
A flesh wound: A minor or superficial injury that is not life-threatening. (Famously used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail: "'Tis but a flesh wound!")
Wound up: (pronounced /waʊnd ʌp/) To be anxious, tense, nervous, or angry. It can also mean to find oneself in an unexpected situation (e.g., "We wound up getting lost").
A self-inflicted wound: A problem, failure, or injury that someone has brought upon themselves.
To bind up one's wounds: To treat or care for injuries; figuratively, to begin the process of healing from emotional or societal trauma.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of wound from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
