Wreak

Meaning

(transitive) To cause harm; to afflict; to inflict; to harm or injure; to let out harm..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To cause harm; to afflict; to inflict; to harm or injure; to let out harm.
2. (archaic) To chasten, or chastise/chastize, or castigate, or punish, or smite.
3. (archaic) To inflict or take vengeance on.
4. (archaic) To take vengeance for.
5. (intransitive) Misspelling of reek.
6. (archaic, literary) Revenge; vengeance; furious passion; resentment.
7. (archaic, literary) Punishment; retribution; payback.

Example Sentences

The earthquake wreaked havoc in the city.

She wreaked her anger on his car.

On the Saturday, October 1, the torrential rains began to wreak damage east of Exeter.

Against a backdrop of economic devastation wreaked by COVID-19, from which the railway has been almost totally insulated by massive sums of public money, the RMT rail union is now calling for industrial action as a pay freeze beckons.

The police abused their authority to wreak an innocent.

The criminal has been wreaked by the Judge to spend a year in prison.

Now was the time to be avenged on his old enemy, to wreak a grudge of seventeen years.

their woe / Broods maddening inwardly and scorns to wreak / Itself abroad;

Word Forms

• wreaks
• wreaking
• wreaked
• wrought
• wroke
• wroken

Synonyms for wreak

Related Words

When Should You Use Wreak?

Use wreak when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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