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 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 Yet the men are wrenched apart, and the culprit seems to be nothing less than a hostile world, one marked by material scarcity and insurmountable alienation. — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 13 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 Experts believe the crown’s flexible mount was strained when thieves wrenched it from its display through a narrow slot cut by the angle grinder, according to a report by the Louvre. — Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026 And yet so much of the film community’s focus has been wrenched out of the past into an urgent present and uncertain future. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 30 Jan. 2026 In a moment when even humanitarian work around these regions can be wrenched by bad-faith political agendas, Mustafa’s framing of the purpose of Saturday’s show was savvy and measured. — Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2026 And Ahmed al-Ahmed, who came to Australia from Syria in 2006, a former policeman who now owns a fruit stand at Bondi Beach, tackled one of the gunmen and wrenched the rifle from him, even as he was wounded himself. — Scott Simon, NPR, 20 Dec. 2025 The man then tackled the shooter and wrenched the gun away from him. — Anders Hagstrom , Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 14 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrenched

Verb

The Rangers had a rough stretch during the seventh when Eovaldi got pulled after allowing one run.

— Cal Phillips Updated July 9, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 July 2026
Valya volunteers to detach Venera 7’s bathysphere, knowing that he’ll be pulled toward Venus, and will certainly die there.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 July 2026

Definition of pulled

Verb

The border shifted and changed hands here at least four times in the 19th century and a fifth time in the 20th, tugged south by war and treaty, peace talks and purchases.

— Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 28 June 2026
In bringing a piece of her mother to the event, Obama tugged at a feeling that many will relate to – wishing a late family member could be with you during life’s milestone moments.

— Fiona Sinclair Scott, CNN Money, 17 June 2026

Definition of tugged

Verb

In the early hours of New Year's Day, a fire tore through a bar in the Swiss ski resort town of Crans-Montana, killing about 40 people and injuring more than 100.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 July 2026
At least 27 people were killed when a massive fire tore through the Na Ladprao pub in northern Bangkok shortly after midnight, sending panicked patrons scrambling to escape.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026

Definition of tore

Verb

Once the squid gather near the surface, lines fitted with bait are lowered into the water and rapidly jerked up and down to imitate small prey such as shrimp, triggering strikes before the catch is reeled aboard.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 20 June 2026
Suddenly, the tent jerked and wobbled.

— Dolores Brown, Outdoor Life, 17 June 2026

Definition of jerked

Verb

In all, designing, building and assembling the horse involved a team of 45, not much less than the number of men on Odysseus’ ship (and roughly the same amount on board after the Cyclops and Scylla monsters had plucked off a few).

— Alex Ritman, Variety, 13 July 2026
Sweet and simple, these lemon motifs look plucked straight from a European grocer along the Amalfi coast.

— Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 13 July 2026

Definition of plucked

Verb

Now, there are other less, kind of, ripped-from-the-headlines cases.

— Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 9 July 2026
As a result of low demand and a decline in sales, California producers ripped out nearly 40,000 acres of vines, according to a 2025 report from the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG).

— Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 9 July 2026

Definition of ripped

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“Wrenched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrenched. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of wrenched

verb

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