as in wreck
the destruction or loss of a ship
the wrecking of the freighter was one of the worst disasters ever on the Great Lakes
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in scuttling
to cause irreparable damage to (a ship) by running aground or sinking
many an unwary captain has wrecked his ship on the shoals that surround the island
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in destroying
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
most of the furniture on the ground floor was wrecked by the floodwaters
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Recent Examples of wrecking
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 5 Sep. 2025
For 25 years, Chavism has co-opted Venezuela's infrastructure for its own enrichment, persecuting journalists and opposition, wrecking the economy, and leaving its citizens in poverty.
—Kristina Foltz, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Sep. 2025
In April, after the court ruling, Omni again sought a wrecking permit but could not proceed with demolition until securing overlay approval.
—Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, 3 Sep. 2025
The brand nails high-quality essentials that look luxe without wrecking your travel budget.
—Claire Gallam, Travel + Leisure, 27 Aug. 2025
The Athletic came up with a four-teams-in-four-divisions plan that would require Colorado and Tampa Bay to switch leagues but otherwise would leave the NL and AL intact and increase regionalization within the divisions without wrecking historic rivalries.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 22 Aug. 2025
Considered a net-wrecking nuisance by colonial fishermen in the late 1800s and early 1900s, lake sturgeon were destroyed in large numbers.
—Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 19 Aug. 2025
But that didn’t stop Derrin, his older brother, Dabion, and a family friend, Jacob Rankin, from becoming a three-man wrecking crew in cleaning up the property earlier this year.
—Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2025
The Australian combo guard still isn’t much of a three-point shooter, but his game-wrecking potential on defense should still earn him a hefty payday, whether from the Hawks or another free-agent suitor in 2026.
—Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Noun
The wrecking begins when Carey (Marvin), Paul’s best friend, ill-advisedly sleeps with Julie—and then, more ill-advisedly still, confesses it to Paul the next day.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
Verb
The sophomore, who is the youngest player ever voted captain under coach Jay Norvell, was a one-man wrecking crew against the Huskies with a game-high 13 tackles.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 5 Sep. 2025
For 25 years, Chavism has co-opted Venezuela's infrastructure for its own enrichment, persecuting journalists and opposition, wrecking the economy, and leaving its citizens in poverty.
—Kristina Foltz, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Sep. 2025
In April, after the court ruling, Omni again sought a wrecking permit but could not proceed with demolition until securing overlay approval.
—Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, 3 Sep. 2025
The brand nails high-quality essentials that look luxe without wrecking your travel budget.
—Claire Gallam, Travel + Leisure, 27 Aug. 2025
The Athletic came up with a four-teams-in-four-divisions plan that would require Colorado and Tampa Bay to switch leagues but otherwise would leave the NL and AL intact and increase regionalization within the divisions without wrecking historic rivalries.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 22 Aug. 2025
Considered a net-wrecking nuisance by colonial fishermen in the late 1800s and early 1900s, lake sturgeon were destroyed in large numbers.
—Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 19 Aug. 2025
But that didn’t stop Derrin, his older brother, Dabion, and a family friend, Jacob Rankin, from becoming a three-man wrecking crew in cleaning up the property earlier this year.
—Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2025
The Australian combo guard still isn’t much of a three-point shooter, but his game-wrecking potential on defense should still earn him a hefty payday, whether from the Hawks or another free-agent suitor in 2026.
—Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrecking
Noun
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Four people — Amanda Benson, a commercial pilot; Kameilia Chavez, a flight nurse; Nicholas Mancuso, a flight paramedic; and Jeffrey Tuning, a commercial pilot — were killed in the wreck.—
Sasha Hupka,
AZCentral.com,
5 Sep. 2025
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Except Steven gets in a car wreck in episode two of season three, and trauma slams Belly and Jeremiah back together.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Ever since ousting editor Kevin Merida last year and scuttling the paper’s Kamala Harris presidential endorsement, the billionaire biotech mogul has been musing about what to do with the brand — More conservative voices?—
Erik Hayden,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Aug. 2025
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Heat creates error in the qubits that make a quantum computer tick, scuttling the operations the computer is carrying out.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
22 Jan. 2021
Verb
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The military has also been targeting and destroying high-rise buildings surrounding displacement camps, crowding Gaza City’s residents into ever-smaller spaces.—
Zeena Saifi,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
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Ultimately, North was found guilty of destroying official documents, accepting a home security system as a gift and obstructing Congress in 1989.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The name of the album and songs on it were inspired by the real-life sinking of a yacht with the same name.—
Adam Bell,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Sep. 2025
-
In another instance, the museum spotlights a story about an unplanned sinking of the Orca, when a production boat that was pulling the onscreen boat went too fast and yanked out the Orca’s planking.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Boston ultimately only got three at bats with runners in scoring position, going 1 for 3 while stranding six men, and the Diamondbacks slowly pulled away with an RBI single by McCarthy in the fourth and a sacrifice fly by Blaze Alexander in the seventh.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
7 Sep. 2025
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In July, Alaska issued a ground stop for an IT outage, stranding some passengers on planes.—
Alexandra Skores,
CNN Money,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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And broadcasting your irritation too loudly risks ruining the atmosphere for everyone else just as much as their yelling or off-key chants.—
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott,
Southern Living,
6 Sep. 2025
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Just as Alexis Bellino flubbed her second chance by aligning herself too closely with Johnny J, an Ed Hardy snapback that refuses to die, Gretchen is ruining hers by trying to relitigate things from the Obama Administration.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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An image taken on August 19 shows Israeli excavators and bulldozers demolishing buildings in Zeitoun.—
Zeena Saifi,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
-
About 90% of the former Spring Hill Mall is gone and work demolishing the final anchor store set to begin in the next couple of weeks, officials said.—
Gloria Casas,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Despite the ongoing discourse of economic slowdown, tariff threats and interest rate concerns, the richest Americans are shattering wealth records.—
Forbes Press Releases,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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The result is nonetheless shattering, for the characters and the audience.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wrecking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrecking. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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