as in agonizing
intensely or unbearably painful
forced to make the emotionally wrenching decision to place her mother in a nursing home
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in twisting
a forceful rotating or pulling motion for the purpose of dislodging something
after a lot of wrenching and tugging, the plumber managed to pull the stubborn pipe free
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in pulling
to move by or as if by a forceful rotation
with one last sharp yank, he wrenched the lid off the bottle of ketchup
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in damaging
to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure
wrenched her shoulder by all of that heavy lifting
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in tearing
to separate or remove by forceful pulling
wrenched the post out of the ground
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wrenching
Tim Padgett, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2026
These four novels create a convincing, wrenching, kaleidoscopic picture of the range and repetitions of the most fatal kind of love; the sort of love that allows nothing else to grow around it, that eradicates all dignity; a love which, in order to be completed, must be told.
—Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026
What's going on is absolutely heart-wrenching.
—Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Warfare Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare is an admirable attempt to counter the truism that there’s no such thing as an anti-war movie — that all war movies, however gruesome or wrenching, effectively (and often unwittingly) wind up glamorizing combat to some degree.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
One particularly wrenching moment in the film made an impression on her stepfather, Kurt Russell.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 21 Nov. 2025
Perhaps the most wrenching scene is one in which Anders, seated alone in a busy café, tunes in to ordinary conversations around him.
—Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Cori Sears, The Spruce, 22 Jan. 2026
Such is the case in Quiara Alegría Hudes’s wrenching and mordant debut novel, The White Hot, in which 26-year-old April Soto hits her breaking point and walks out on her 10-year-old daughter, Noelle.
—Ruth Madievsky, The Atlantic, 21 Jan. 2026
People were calling it tacky, brave, MFA garbage, heart wrenching.
—Sarah Adler
september 8, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Gut wrenching doesn’t begin to describe it.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 7 Sep. 2025
Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 31 Mar. 2026
The transition from agricultural employment to factory employment involved wrenching mass migration, the utter misery of the Great Depression (as well as other brutal recessions, now faded from collective memory), and the painful dealmaking of the New Deal.
—Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Interview with Savannah Guthrie is gut wrenching Savannah Guthrie and her family have made several videos posted on social media, asking the public for help and thanking people for their prayers and support, but this was the first interview with a media outlet that Savannah Guthrie has given.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 25 Mar. 2026
The gut-wrenching loss was difficult to process.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026
And too many were met with gut-wrenching news.
—Kamye Hugley, Sun Sentinel, 22 Mar. 2026
For reasons this review cannot reveal, the Clyburns of New York find themselves in Montana to confront an unfathomable accident and all the gut-wrenching emotions and paperwork that come amid loss.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 Mar. 2026
And that didn’t change following the Longhorns’ wrenching 76-66 loss to Ole Miss in the first round of the SEC Tournament Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena.
—Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 13 Mar. 2026
The January collapse of a pipe as wide as a car dumped so much sewage into the Potomac River that officials tracked a spike of gut-wrenching bacteria drifting slowly past Washington for weeks, prompting an emergency declaration and federal assistance.
—ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
Another wrenching question, of course, is whether at least the younger Perez siblings would want or need to go with Olga to Guatemala if she were deported.
—Tim Padgett, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2026
These four novels create a convincing, wrenching, kaleidoscopic picture of the range and repetitions of the most fatal kind of love; the sort of love that allows nothing else to grow around it, that eradicates all dignity; a love which, in order to be completed, must be told.
—Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026
What's going on is absolutely heart-wrenching.
—Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Warfare Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare is an admirable attempt to counter the truism that there’s no such thing as an anti-war movie — that all war movies, however gruesome or wrenching, effectively (and often unwittingly) wind up glamorizing combat to some degree.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
One particularly wrenching moment in the film made an impression on her stepfather, Kurt Russell.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 21 Nov. 2025
Perhaps the most wrenching scene is one in which Anders, seated alone in a busy café, tunes in to ordinary conversations around him.
—Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Noun
This can feel challenging and heart-wrenching.
—Cori Sears, The Spruce, 22 Jan. 2026
Such is the case in Quiara Alegría Hudes’s wrenching and mordant debut novel, The White Hot, in which 26-year-old April Soto hits her breaking point and walks out on her 10-year-old daughter, Noelle.
—Ruth Madievsky, The Atlantic, 21 Jan. 2026
People were calling it tacky, brave, MFA garbage, heart wrenching.
—Sarah Adler
september 8, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Gut wrenching doesn’t begin to describe it.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 7 Sep. 2025
Verb
Three years of heart wrenching testimony has finally paid off for some Colorado parents.
—Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 31 Mar. 2026
The transition from agricultural employment to factory employment involved wrenching mass migration, the utter misery of the Great Depression (as well as other brutal recessions, now faded from collective memory), and the painful dealmaking of the New Deal.
—Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Interview with Savannah Guthrie is gut wrenching Savannah Guthrie and her family have made several videos posted on social media, asking the public for help and thanking people for their prayers and support, but this was the first interview with a media outlet that Savannah Guthrie has given.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 25 Mar. 2026
The gut-wrenching loss was difficult to process.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026
And too many were met with gut-wrenching news.
—Kamye Hugley, Sun Sentinel, 22 Mar. 2026
For reasons this review cannot reveal, the Clyburns of New York find themselves in Montana to confront an unfathomable accident and all the gut-wrenching emotions and paperwork that come amid loss.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 Mar. 2026
And that didn’t change following the Longhorns’ wrenching 76-66 loss to Ole Miss in the first round of the SEC Tournament Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena.
—Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 13 Mar. 2026
The January collapse of a pipe as wide as a car dumped so much sewage into the Potomac River that officials tracked a spike of gut-wrenching bacteria drifting slowly past Washington for weeks, prompting an emergency declaration and federal assistance.
—ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrenching
Adjective
-
In an agonizing twist, just as the show had gotten underway, Eden received word she had been accepted by a professional ballet company.—
Scot Paltrow,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Either way, at least the agonizing holding pattern would be over.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Then, as the pandemic waned, in 2023 and early ’24, came two jolts to the system – federal pandemic-era assistance ended, pulling food and food-related funding away from charities, and the number of people seeking food continued to grow.—
Andre Mouchard,
Oc Register,
29 Mar. 2026
-
The trio rebuild the tower and Guerrero goes up again, pulling the line for about four minutes more before the group takes down the tower, wheels the cart away from the window and walks away.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Carefully peel away parchment from bottom of cake (start from a long side where it might be embedded in the cake and pull gently to avoid tearing the cake); discard.—
Shilpa Uskokovic,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Trump posted footage of the strike on Truth Social, in an uncaptioned video that shows explosions tearing through the night sky.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The timing of the interview—just a few days before Holy Week, when Christians like Nancy and Savannah Guthrie, year after year, stage a harrowing reënactment of an unjust, torturous death—wasn’t lost on anyone.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
1 Apr. 2026
-
While folks all across the nation are grappling with torturous TSA lines, Joe Jonas actually had fun at the airport on Saturday.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Scheduling tugs, fuel barges, crane operators, drayage trucks and drivers is complex indeed.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
29 Mar. 2026
-
The tug of war is just starting.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The movie was a major success, tugging at the heartstrings of pet owners everywhere.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
26 Mar. 2026
-
By July or August, if all goes well, the spacecraft will begin the monthslong process of tugging Swift up, aiming for an altitude of about 550 kilometers.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Keep the movement coming from your ribs, rotating, not by yanking your neck.—
Jakob Roze,
Health,
1 Apr. 2026
-
In other words, eliminating them from the animal kingdom would be like yanking an entire tier of Jenga blocks out of the middle of the tower.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Sometimes the journey to diagnosis is so emotionally excruciating that people call off the effort for a long period of time or even altogether.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Enter World Cup Camp, a place where aging super fans can step into the lives of a professional footballer without the excruciating, chronic pain (more or less).—
Rebecca Leib,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wrenching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrenching. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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