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

Michael Whatley‘s campaign against Democrat Roy Cooper on Tuesday evening, even as Republican PACs have quietly pulled funding from the race.

— Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 21 Oct. 2026
Wilson is part of the reason three mothers pulled their children this year from a San Diego-area Christian school, which pursued an affiliation with ACCS.

— ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of pulled

Verb

Ignoring that rule could get flood insurance coverage yanked for an entire community.

— Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
Wi-Fi is not free on those services; T-Mobile used to comp at least an hour of connectivity for subscribers, but quietly yanked that benefit in April.

— Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 15 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

The Vikings similarly struggled in 2023 after Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles tendon.

— CBS News, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
The collapse comes just weeks after a fire tore through a hospital in the capital Islamabad, killing at least 14 newborns and sparking widespread anger and multiple arrests.

— Sophia Saifi, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 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

During fall, a train window serves as the perfect perch for leaf-peeping in river valleys aglow in crimson and gold or passing through small towns that look like they’ve been plucked from a Hallmark movie.

— Lauren Dana Ellman, Midwest Living, 15 Oct. 2026
As the party winded down, guests plucked final bites off silver platters and marveled at how tall Skarsgård truly is in person—his nearly six-foot-five frame barely fit under the bar’s low ceilings.

— Kenneal Patterson, Vanity Fair, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of plucked

Verb

Witnesses said the speeding car jumped over a sidewalk, knocked down a chain-link fence and ripped out another wooden fence before going airborne into the house.

— Tammy Mutasa, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
When the quarterback sneak is ripped from the playbook, creativity isn’t cute.

— Sam McDowell October 20, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of ripped

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Style

“Wrenched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrenched. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of wrenched

verb

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