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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of racking
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
Then came the rise of racking systems, e-commerce fulfillment and the drive for cubic efficiency.
—Allen Buchanan, Oc Register, 20 Sep. 2025
The Wiggles are a powerhouse, racking-up more than 30 million sales of albums and DVDs, and upwards of 8 million book sales.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Verb
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
Then came the rise of racking systems, e-commerce fulfillment and the drive for cubic efficiency.
—Allen Buchanan, Oc Register, 20 Sep. 2025
The Wiggles are a powerhouse, racking-up more than 30 million sales of albums and DVDs, and upwards of 8 million book sales.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for racking
Adjective
-
The sentencing hearing included emotional and wrenching statements from Ferguson's family, who described a life permanently altered by the loss of their son and relative.—
Sergio Candido,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 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
Verb
-
Kid Rock gave an impassioned testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee earlier today, addressing the ongoing issues plaguing the ticketing industry and the unfair practices employed at the expense of both artists and fans.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
28 Jan. 2026
-
China, a massive figure in the luxury industry, seems to be on the luxury rebound; weakened demand in the country had previously been a driver for the slowdown plaguing the high-end realm over the last few years.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
At a union hall in San Diego last November, Gavin Newsom—the tall, coiffed governor of California, and, since last year, one of the Democrats’ best hopes for pulling together a shattered country—stood to one side in white shirtsleeves and waited for his turn to address the crowd.—
Nathan Heller,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Wagner wasn’t as fortunate with his 7-iron shot, pulling it left into the rough (and scuffing the bottom of his club).—
Jay Posner,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
But the overlap with unusually frigid temperatures afflicting Florida's Space Coast and the rest of the country have turned Crew-12's launch opportunities into an intricate dance around Artemis 2.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Their bread-and-butter is comforting the most comfortable by afflicting the most afflicted.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
His family spent an agonizing week searching through morgues, hospitals and detention facilities before finally identifying his body among piles of corpses, also shown in the viral footage.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Her family would later make the agonizing decision to take her off life support.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Trump has repeatedly alleged that the South African government is actively persecuting white citizens, particularly farmers.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
-
The former human-rights lawyer entered on a tourist visa and filed for political asylum in October of that year, claiming the governments that succeeded Correa were persecuting him.—
Syra Ortiz Blanes,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
September 22 Lucas Museum opens After a long, semi-torturous process, George Lucas’s grand vision for a public museum containing an impressive collection of paintings, drawings, and film memorabilia will finally come to fruition.—
Hillary Busis,
Vanity Fair,
22 Dec. 2025
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During this increasingly torturous adjustment period, Millie learns Nina spent some time in a psychiatric facility years earlier after allegedly leaving Cece to drown in a bathtub and taking enough pills to kill herself.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
19 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Yorgos Lanthimos, Florian Zeller and Juliette Binoche are among more than 800 film professionals who have signed a joint statement condemning the Iranian government for killing and torturing its own people.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Dan Bujor, who lives out of a school bus parked in Long Island City, was arrested Sunday on charges including overdriving animals, torturing and injuring animals and failure to provide sustenance, in addition to driving without a license, in connection with the bizarre incident, cops said.—
Roni Jacobson,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Racking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racking. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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