wrought
2 of 2past tense and past participle of work
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The Uses of Wrought
Wrought may function as the past or the past participle form of the verb work. While not as common as it once was, this past-tense form still is encountered in such combinations as "wrought havoc." Since "wreak havoc" is also a familiar pairing, many people assume that wrought is the past tense of wreak, but the two are actually distinct. Although it still exists as a verb, wrought is more often used today as an adjective, a role in which it has a number of meanings. Most of these are found referring to things or materials which have been in some way worked by people (as in wrought iron or "carefully wrought prose"), but one sense ("deeply stirred") is typically used in describing emotions. When employed in this sense, wrought is often found paired with up (as in "he found himself wrought up over the news").
Examples of wrought in a Sentence
David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 23 Mar. 2026
Employees peeked through a wrought-iron gate as former Noma head of fermentation Jason Ignacio White read a letter decrying Redzepi.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
While many action films before have featured strong leading women, director Vicky Jewson takes on the genre through a darkly comedic, emotionally wrought female lens in Pretty Lethal, which premiered tonight at SXSW.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 13 Mar. 2026
In 2025, the Middle East accounted for roughly 21% of unwrought aluminum imports and 13% of wrought aluminum imports — and those percentages have been rising.
—Kevin Williams, CNBC, 11 Mar. 2026
At Columbia University, in front of wrought-iron entrance gates that have been locked for more than two years now, a graduate student named Lily Levitt stood next to a box of whistles as melting snow pooled around her.
—Jane Bua, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
The upshot is that Chinese Republicans, which wants to be a show with a pair of sturdily wrought protagonists, ends up waffling between the two, apparently unable to decide which should occupy the center and in neither case provided with enough dimension to fill it.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
On the chimney was a wrought-iron R for Robinson.
—Gail Sheehy, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026
Carved-wood dragons watch from palazzo eaves, and an ornate wrought-iron cage encases double bells atop the city hall’s clock tower.
—Adam Erace, Travel + Leisure, 6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wrought.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wrought. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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