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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for racking
Verb
-
Goldy still has one of those markers - excessive pulling - sitting unused in front of him.—
Tony Blengino,
Forbes,
3 Jan. 2025 -
The Thunder trailed by 16 in the first half before pulling within 52-48 at halftime.—
Austin Knoblauch,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
That’s changing this year, as three Democratic governors announced new initiatives aimed at addressing disparities afflicting boys and men.—
Elizabeth Robinson,
NBC news,
25 Mar. 2025
-
One key focus of these efforts should address the deficiencies afflicting the market for biologics, which are medicines made or derived from biological processes.—
Wayne Winegarden,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The 15-centimeter-long fish died an agonizing death, impaled on a 10-centimeter-long belemnite.—
David Bressan,
Forbes.com,
29 July 2025
-
Laura and Geoff tried to summarize the heights of Greg’s life — most tied to football — as well as his agonizing final 15 years.—
Christopher Kamrani,
New York Times,
24 July 2025
Adjective
-
How to make your hair look longer Trying to grow your hair fast can feel torturous, with no one walking the same path to longer lengths.—
Ana Morales,
Vogue,
23 July 2025
-
The prospect of trying to cut open a stubborn 5-4-1 block in the Orlando heat could have become torturous quite quickly.—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
28 June 2025
Adjective
-
The community’s response is intense: panicked and bereaved mothers and fathers turn on Justine, indirectly a victim herself; misguided outrage blinds them to the real menace operating unimpeded in their midst.—
Andy Crump,
Time,
9 Aug. 2025
-
For Democrats, the internal pressure is even more intense.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities recently launched a campaign attacking the governor for allowing the state’s overreliance on property taxes to worsen and for seeking to slash summer work programs that assist the state’s troubled youths.—
Keith M. Phaneuf,
Hartford Courant,
15 Mar. 2025
-
The early glimpses show a player with real potential in the attacking third, capable of thriving in transition and striking well at goal.—
Patrick Boyland,
The Athletic,
14 Mar. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Racking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racking. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share