wracking

present participle of wrack
as in destroying
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of it's amazing how a raging sea can wrack a seemingly sturdy beachfront home

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of wracking Through more than a dozen conversations with the cast and writers, Deadline has weaved together an oral history of the series from those nerve-wracking early days on Season 1 to the bittersweet end of production in December 2025. — Katie Campione, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2026 The dam to my grief burst into loud, gut-wrenching sobs, wracking my body and crushing my soul. — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026 Adding spice to the stew are a coveted Botticelli painting, a lavish wedding, and some nerve-wracking action, especially in an episode mostly set in the forest. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 3 Sep. 2026 Last Sunday was a particularly nerve-wracking day for all of us. — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 23 Aug. 2026 Matthew undergoes periodic brain scans, which are a nerve-wracking time for his parents. — Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026 Despite a nerve-wracking 1-0 start (before Bellingham knocked in a deuce), Jagger was seen looking grim and pacing around the VIP box. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 14 July 2026 As the casting process heats up to find a new 007, Famke Janssen, who starred opposite Pierce Brosnan in 1995’s GoldenEye, has recalled her nerve-wracking audition to land the part as Xenia Onatopp in the iconic James Bond franchise. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 28 June 2026 Gordon Ramsay, the guest Evans calls the most nerve-wracking booking of his career, has become a friend. — Clayton Davis, Variety, 18 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wracking
Verb
  • Sign up for the newsletter When the rain does fall, Kabul’s hard, impermeable surfaces mean the water doesn’t replenish aquifers, but instead sweeps through the city as flash floods, destroying homes, killing people and rolling away.
    — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Space debris is generated not only by kinetic space weapons but also when satellites collide and get smashed into countless fragments and smaller particles that travel at high velocity and are capable of destroying or damaging more spacecraft.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • As wet electrodes get thicker, the liquid binder migrates unevenly during drying, ruining the battery‘s structure.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Seaver also allegedly threatened to start a podcast dedicated to ruining Parton’s image unless he was paid.
    — Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 28 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • But recent Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia’s oil refineries have led to widespread fuel shortages, shattering the illusion that the consequences of the conflict are far removed from ordinary Russians.
    — Zahra Ullah, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
  • My oven is never going to get that same shattering all-over crunch.
    — Maggie Meyer Glisan, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Here’s how the shift happened, what the ingredient actually does below the neck and how to fold it into a routine without wrecking your skin barrier.
    — Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The general public learned of the demolition plan only when the wrecking equipment began work nearly three months later.
    — Dan Diamond, Washington Post, 9 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The region has already been saturated by heavy rain over the past months, and regions like New Mexico and Grand Canyon were hit by devastating floods earlier this month.
    — Megan Janetsky, Chicago Tribune, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Military force has imposed enormous costs on both Hamas and Iran, devastating their military facilities and killing their commanders.
    — NADIA SCHADLOW, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • This is not the first time a coach in LAUSD has gotten into trouble trying to improve a facility, with the district issuing disciplinary action and demolishing the improvement because it was not authorized.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026
  • On Thursday, the judge ordered the Kennedy Center to provide 30 days' notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolishing it.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • But of the leaders of those three mega-bands, perhaps the most mysterious remains Pete Townshend, The Who’s songwriter and enigmatic eminence, thrashing chords and smashing guitars while Roger Daltrey handled lead vocals.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 3 Oct. 2026
  • How would Flock stop someone from smashing a car window in the dead of night on a street where no camera is watching?
    — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 2 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • That is overcoming adversity, using your gift to help others.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 4 Oct. 2026
  • For the Dream, that meant overcoming a slow start in Game 1 against the Mystics before taking control in Game 2.
    — Micahya Costen, AJC.com, 2 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Wracking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wracking. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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