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
Environmentalists have long warned of the damage wreaked by the fast-fashion sector’s wasteful trend of mass producing low-cost clothes that are quickly thrown away.
—
Jason Ma, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2025
Instead, Greene has God—or rather, Sarah’s relationship with God—wreak great suffering upon her psyche.
—Terry Nguyen
july 23, Literary Hub, 23 July 2025
Mold can wreak absolute havoc on not only your home, but also on you and your family’s health, too.
—Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 18 July 2025
Bernal as a despotic and at times deluded Magellan persuades the Spanish Crown to fund his bold 16th century expedition to the fabled lands of the East, only to unleash a decade of devastation wreaked by European conquistadors in the Pacific as part of colonial conquests.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for wreak
Jason Ma, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2025
Instead, Greene has God—or rather, Sarah’s relationship with God—wreak great suffering upon her psyche.
—Terry Nguyen
july 23, Literary Hub, 23 July 2025
Mold can wreak absolute havoc on not only your home, but also on you and your family’s health, too.
—Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 18 July 2025
Bernal as a despotic and at times deluded Magellan persuades the Spanish Crown to fund his bold 16th century expedition to the fabled lands of the East, only to unleash a decade of devastation wreaked by European conquistadors in the Pacific as part of colonial conquests.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for wreak
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wreak
Verb
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In its lawsuit, Ryan LLC argued that the noncompete ban would inflict irreparable harm by enabling its employees to leave for the competition, potentially taking with them valuable skills and information gained on the job.—
Andrea Hsu,
NPR,
5 Sep. 2025
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But most people, when presented with images of immense and deliberately inflicted human suffering, have a human response.—
Jack Sheehan
September 4,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Markel’s parents asked the judge to impose the harshest possible penalty.—
Lauren del Valle,
CNN Money,
6 Sep. 2025
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Also Thursday, the judge agreed to impose an order barring Drummond and lawyers from talking to the media about the case.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wreak.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wreak. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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