as in wrenching
intensely or unbearably painful
a racking cough kept him awake all night
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in plaguing
to cause persistent suffering to
the young man was racked with guilt over the lie he had told to his parents the country has been racked by years of civil war
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pulling
to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure
she racked her brain trying to remember where she'd put the money the sails of the boat were racked by the storm's winds
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of racking
Sneha Dhandapani, CNN Money, 30 May 2026
Detectives said the witness also told police about a video that had surfaced online that appeared to show Jones going to his vehicle, retrieving an object, and then making a racking motion consistent with using a gun before walking to where the shooting unfolded.
—Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
Since avian flu turned eggs into a luxury item, pastry chef Annie Clemmons has spent countless hours in her Maryland workshop, racking her brains about how to replace them in her recipes.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 26 Feb. 2026
Video footage showed Curry shooting with his left hand, racking the gun to fix a malfunction, taking out and reinserting a magazine, then checking his abdomen, apparently realizing he has been shot.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2026
On the small screen, the influencer Gabriella Carr recently drew her sizable flock to a rejection spreadsheet, where the video creator and actress means to track all her professional door-slams with an eye to racking ’em up.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 4 Feb. 2026
He was accused of taking his gun out of his holster, racking the gun and pointing it at both people.
—Jeff A. Chamer
december 11, Charlotte Observer, 11 Dec. 2025
The machines autonomously lifted and placed panels onto racking structures, at the Goorambat East site, located near the city of Benalla, approximately 130 miles northeast of Melbourne.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2025
But after racking just two flags through the first half's first 29 minutes, a critical pass-interference penalty in the final seconds moved Kansas City into position to kick a go-ahead field goal and provide the 9-6 halftime margin.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 22 Sep. 2025
Verb
Theories of how the book survived Library Manager Myles Cooper has been racking his brain for an explanation of how the book found its way home.
—Sneha Dhandapani, CNN Money, 30 May 2026
Detectives said the witness also told police about a video that had surfaced online that appeared to show Jones going to his vehicle, retrieving an object, and then making a racking motion consistent with using a gun before walking to where the shooting unfolded.
—Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
Since avian flu turned eggs into a luxury item, pastry chef Annie Clemmons has spent countless hours in her Maryland workshop, racking her brains about how to replace them in her recipes.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 26 Feb. 2026
Video footage showed Curry shooting with his left hand, racking the gun to fix a malfunction, taking out and reinserting a magazine, then checking his abdomen, apparently realizing he has been shot.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2026
On the small screen, the influencer Gabriella Carr recently drew her sizable flock to a rejection spreadsheet, where the video creator and actress means to track all her professional door-slams with an eye to racking ’em up.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 4 Feb. 2026
He was accused of taking his gun out of his holster, racking the gun and pointing it at both people.
—Jeff A. Chamer
december 11, Charlotte Observer, 11 Dec. 2025
The machines autonomously lifted and placed panels onto racking structures, at the Goorambat East site, located near the city of Benalla, approximately 130 miles northeast of Melbourne.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2025
But after racking just two flags through the first half's first 29 minutes, a critical pass-interference penalty in the final seconds moved Kansas City into position to kick a go-ahead field goal and provide the 9-6 halftime margin.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for racking
Adjective
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His most wrenching scene, when Stagg receives a devastating personal call but cannot react amid the intense geopolitical stakes, captured this tension.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
26 May 2026
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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
Verb
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She is backed by the local Democratic Socialists of America, and her challengers claim the district has suffered under under her leadership, pointing to MacArthur Park as emblematic of the homelessness and drug addiction crisis plaguing the city.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2026
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The title of his third album, REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE, suggests an MCU movie in which our hero attempts to take on every problem plaguing the planet—and this time, Owusu isn’t giving his adversaries code names.—
Stuart Berman,
Pitchfork,
19 May 2026
Verb
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Some families are pulling back on travel as gas and groceries get more expensive worldwide.—
Anton L. Delgado,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2026
-
Down 3-0, the notion of the Padres pulling this one out seemed outdated.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Cholera, a waterborne bacterial disease, has unleashed a perilous wave across southern Africa, with active outbreaks currently afflicting five countries in southern and central Africa.—
John Drake,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
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Never mind the economic turbulence afflicting the country and the world, driven most recently by rising gas prices because of the war in Iran.—
Stephen Hudak,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
Sarunya, here since 1999, is a familiar face to many, for sometimes agonizing but superlative reflexology.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
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But each of the past four seasons has produced an ending more agonizing than the last.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Jack Hayford, the founder of the King’s University, in Texas, claimed that the film was persecuting Christians, who only wanted to be treated equally.—
Isaac Butler,
New Yorker,
30 May 2026
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Behind the story One of the really big stories on my beat covering China for the last decade has been Beijing's intensive ramp-up in detaining and persecuting Uyghurs, a primarily Muslim ethnic minority.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
26 May 2026
Adjective
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What Mary endures throughout Stappard’s debut is unquestionably torturous, but the writer/director never seems to take pleasure in orchestrating her or any other Māori characters’ suffering.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
17 May 2026
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Many of the children didn’t survive the torturous experimentation, while others developed superpowers.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
15 May 2026
Verb
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She was arrested at a hotel near the barn and booked at the Clark County Juvenile Hall on 12 counts of animal cruelty, including intentionally aiming or torturing a horse, as well as three counts of malicious destruction of property.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
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She was later transported to the Clark County Juvenile Hall and charged with 12 counts of willful or malicious killing, maiming or torturing an animal and three counts of felony malicious destruction of private property valued at more than $5,000, police said.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Racking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racking. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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