as in inflicts
to cause to suffer punishment or vengeance for
wreaked their vengeance on those they considered enemies
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Recent Examples of wreaks
Items below the benchmark are sorted into a different area mainly for incineration or landfill, which is where textile pollution wreaks its most damage.
—
Tian MacLeod Ji, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2026
This time, though, there's only one enemy to deal with – but by Cybertron, this murder machine wreaks bloody havoc on Alan Ritchson's 81 (he's only known by this callsign in the movie) and his team of Army Rangers in training!
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 11 Mar. 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
But when a terrible fire wreaks damage, a miracle occurs.
—Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 18 Sep. 2025
Yet no one community better reflects the cascade of consequences that gun violence wreaks on kids’ classrooms, homes and relationships.
—David Clarey, jsonline.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Tian MacLeod Ji, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2026
This time, though, there's only one enemy to deal with – but by Cybertron, this murder machine wreaks bloody havoc on Alan Ritchson's 81 (he's only known by this callsign in the movie) and his team of Army Rangers in training!
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 11 Mar. 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
But when a terrible fire wreaks damage, a miracle occurs.
—Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 18 Sep. 2025
Yet no one community better reflects the cascade of consequences that gun violence wreaks on kids’ classrooms, homes and relationships.
—David Clarey, jsonline.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wreaks
Verb
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There is also a growing body of credible evidence showing how EdTech inflicts emotional, cognitive, physical, and developmental harms on children, adolescents, and young adults, while displacing the human relationships that are essential to healthy human development and well-being.—
Dr. Timothy Scott,
Hartford Courant,
31 Mar. 2026
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The focus here is squarely on her mother, another survivor who inflicts her own share of damage along the way.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Competition, alliances, and egos collide as this group puts public reputations on the line, testing players’ self-reliance, problem-solving, and grit, per the logline.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
13 Apr. 2026
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Even Bahrain, the smallest Gulf economy, regularly puts the equivalent of more than 3% of GDP into its military.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Almost every state imposes sales tax, except for Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon, which instead allows cities to charge a local sales tax.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
11 Apr. 2026
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Plaintiffs' lawyers say the latest policy also imposes unprecedented rules dictating when reporters can offer anonymity to sources.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wreaks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wreaks. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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