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 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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrenched

Verb

The disbelief at billowing black smoke from a gash in the Pentagon and collapsing skyscrapers of steel, the dread over what attacks might yet come, the hope that people might be pulled from the rubble alive.

— Ann Gerhart, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2026
In his absence, the documentarian created a digital avatar of the Tesla CEO and used statements pulled from decades’ worth of the entrepreneur’s interviews and public appearances.

— Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of pulled

Verb

Hours later, as the couple sat in a car outside a west Fort Worth bowling alley, an unknown man yanked open the passenger door.

— Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Sep. 2026
In one clip, a pair of people sit in a small box attached to a wire as they're yanked onto a platform across a river in Nuwakot, Nepal.

— Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of yanked

Verb

That was all going to set up a potential breakout 2025 season — before Worthy collided with tight end Travis Kelce and tore his labrum in the season opener.

— Jesse Newell, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
At least 22 people were killed and many injured when a fire tore through a crowded wedding in a Kinshasa neighborhood hall, as panicked guests jammed narrow corridors to escape.

— Saleh Mwanamilongo, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of tore

Verb

But in 1933, within a matter of days, they were jerked back into reality.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 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

Oliver grabbed a hat-trick to take his tally for the season to seven in just four games after four against Leeds United the previous week.

— Rob Tanner, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
At 4 o’clock on a Thursday morning, Salomon Olea grabbed a packed lunch of a ham-and- cheese torta and a white peach, kissed his wife goodbye and left the home in Escondido he’s owned for nearly 30 years.

— Audrey McGlinchy, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of grabbed

Verb

In fact, Israel built its future wagering that the Palestinians violently displaced and expelled in the Nakba would eventually move on, assimilate, forget the depravity that ripped them from their land.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
Actor Michael Rapaport ripped Macklemore as a talentless clown following the rapper’s pro-Palestinian set at MetLife Stadium.

— Staff, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of ripped

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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 13 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of wrenched

verb

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