wrenched

verb

past tense of wrench
1
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

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2
as in damaged
to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure wrenched her shoulder by all of that heavy lifting

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in yanked
to separate or remove by forceful pulling wrenched the post out of the ground

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrenched
  1. pulled
  2. yanked
  3. tugged
  4. tore
  5. jerked
  6. grabbed
  7. plucked
  8. ripped
Verb
  • As Findley dragged the driver from the truck, Deputy Chase Blatt, driving north on I-35, saw the fire and the driver being pulled from the truck.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Saudi slowdown Saudi Arabia’s market regulator has proposed tougher rules for IPOs in an effort to revive its flagging market, which has seen a sharp decline in listings this year, as well as several high-profile IPOs being pulled.
    — Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of pulled
Verb
  • The catch is that the number of neutrons in the universe plummeted during the game, like chairs being yanked out of line.
    — Cara Giovanetti, The Conversation, 25 Sep. 2026
  • However, multiple lab-wide reorganizations after NASA yanked its flagship Mars project increased the overhead for other projects like GRACE-Continuity.
    — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of yanked
Verb
  • Hardly decipherable, but the syllables tugged at the corner of my mind.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 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
  • During another strong El Nino in 1997, hundreds of people died when Hurricane Pauline tore across Mexico’s Pacific coast.
    — John Raby, Chicago Tribune, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Three years later, former ESPN host Keith Olbermann celebrated when Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles in the opening minutes of the Jets’ season.
    — Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of tore
Verb
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of jerked
Verb
  • Ross also grabbed the woman by her ponytail and slammed her against the wall, causing injuries to her face and lip, according to the report.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Israel, Iranian analysts have noted, grabbed territory in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Syria after October 7 and argued that doing so was essential for its security.
    — Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of grabbed
Verb
  • In fact, all four songs sound like they were plucked from previous albums like Midnights or The Tortured Poets Department.
    — Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Paired with a prominent pink lip and punctuating updo, the glam appeared as if it were plucked from an early 2000s look book.
    — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of plucked
Verb
  • Explosives ripped through the old bridge, sending it crashing into the Mississippi River as cheers rose from the crowd.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • So did trees—the Levitts ripped them out to ease the work of building crews (and then planted saplings after the homes were built).
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of ripped

Browse Nearby Words

wrench
wrenched
wrenches
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Cite this Entry

“Wrenched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrenched. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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