as in to inflict
to cause to suffer punishment or vengeance for
wreaked their vengeance on those they considered enemies
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Recent Examples of wreak
This alliance, Hotez says, is wreaking immeasurable damage to Americans’ trust in science and healthcare.
—
Will Carless, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026
Max wreaks some more havoc after the excursion by gunning it on the tender while towing guests on the tube.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2026
As the complaining businesses are no doubt wringing their hands over the setback, shoppers are also bemoaning the havoc that tariffs have wreaked on their pocketbooks as the final week of holiday shopping ramps up.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 16 Dec. 2025
Most of the book is a provocative and fast-paced chronicle of the damage that liberalism has supposedly wreaked on countries’ economic, social, political, and psychological foundations.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wreak
Will Carless, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026
Max wreaks some more havoc after the excursion by gunning it on the tender while towing guests on the tube.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2026
As the complaining businesses are no doubt wringing their hands over the setback, shoppers are also bemoaning the havoc that tariffs have wreaked on their pocketbooks as the final week of holiday shopping ramps up.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 16 Dec. 2025
Most of the book is a provocative and fast-paced chronicle of the damage that liberalism has supposedly wreaked on countries’ economic, social, political, and psychological foundations.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wreak
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wreak
Verb
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Becket uses this time to take the guy through his entire life story (with some sizable, murder-free jumps notably missing), most of it hinging on that essential wound inflicted on him before he was born.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
18 Feb. 2026
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All the pain McCarthy had inflicted on people surfaced.—
Kristen Monroe,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Among the documents is an email exchange from 2009 in which Mandelson appears to discuss Britain’s plans to impose an additional tax on bankers’ bonuses as a punitive, one-off measure following the crash.—
Lauren Kent,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
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While courts last imposed a death sentence in 2016, South Korea has not carried out an execution since 1997.—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wreak.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wreak. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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