WRENCHED Synonyms: 59 Similar and Opposite Words

wrenched

verb

past tense of wrench

as in pulled

to move by or as if by a forceful rotation with one last sharp yank, he wrenched the lid off the bottle of ketchup

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in damaged

to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure wrenched her shoulder by all of that heavy lifting

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in yanked

to separate or remove by forceful pulling wrenched the post out of the ground

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

reattached

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 wrenched The bit caught a pipe strap and wrenched him off a ladder, tearing off his thumb and mangling his hand. — Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 8 Oct. 2026 The flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, after passengers stormed the cockpit and wrenched back controlfrom the attacker, who Israeli officials suspect was trying to crash the plane. — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2026 The driver wrenched the Jeep to the left, arm over arm churning at the wheel. — Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026 After her Acura was rear-ended in May 2022, a car crash that wrenched her neck and back, Samantha Roper sought out a chiropractor. — Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026 The sibling drama, meanwhile, rather fades out of view amid these loftier goings-on; the film’s narrative begins to feel devised by the old parlor game Consequences, repeatedly wrenched in erratic new directions. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 31 Aug. 2026 Miriam had given her a heavy coat and wrenched open the silver door. — Rachel Yoder, New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2026 On a moonless night, that Alpha team crept silently from the statue’s belly and wrenched open the gates of Troy, decisively ending the war in their favor. — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 15 July 2026 Henley wrenched away from her mother's grip, turned, and darted up the stairs again, leaving Emily and Kate in startled silence. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 1 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrenched

Verb

That said, when the door was closed and the curtains pulled, the bustle of Waikīkī disappeared, allowing for a quiet night’s sleep.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Nov. 2026
Moscow has demanded that the alliance's troops be pulled back from Russia's borders.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 12 Nov. 2026

Definition of pulled

Verb

Coach Curt Cignetti did not say if Hoover was yanked because of an injury.

— CBS News, CBS News, 31 Oct. 2026
The district secured $150 million in federal funding to fix the issue, but it was yanked back as part of cost-cutting efforts in 2025, then recently re-instated this year.

— Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of yanked

Verb

The wind tugged and shook the bomber, but the pilot held her steady.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
But already the thought tugged at me that the scales that had turned were not celestial, but legal, the workings of the same system condemned in the camp as corrupt and broken.

— J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of tugged

Verb

In the present, Matthew mounts his own investigation into the crime that tore his life apart, confronting old friends, revisiting broken relationships and interrogating the people who built the case against him.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2026
Six people died and several others were injured after a three-alarm fire tore through a home in Brooklyn, New York, early Thursday morning.

— ABC News, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of tore

Verb

During the test, Linton jerked and twitched in what prosecutors described as an attempt to fake a seizure.

— James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Somewhere nearby, in a dark office, an eavesdropping oreja has just jerked to attention on his hard little chair.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of jerked

Verb

One of the officers grabbed a protester who was filming him and deployed pepper spray after a brief struggle.

— Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 5 Nov. 2026
The story grabbed worldwide attention and ended tragically when the baby’s body was found in the woods just a few miles from home.

— Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of grabbed

Verb

Stars Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgard, Raymond Nicholson and Tom Francis as college football stars plucked from the height of their sports careers and into Marine training and the Pacific theater.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 1 Nov. 2026
Luckily for the man, having all of the adult worms plucked from his orbs meant the infection was over—no antiparasitic medication required, even if some of the larvae had been left behind.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of plucked

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wrench

wrenched

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“Wrenched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrenched. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of wrenched

verb

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