as in agonizing
intensely or unbearably painful
forced to make the emotionally wrenching decision to place her mother in a nursing home
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in twisting
a forceful rotating or pulling motion for the purpose of dislodging something
after a lot of wrenching and tugging, the plumber managed to pull the stubborn pipe free
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in pulling
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
2
as in damaging
to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure
wrenched her shoulder by all of that heavy lifting
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in tearing
to separate or remove by forceful pulling
wrenched the post out of the ground
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wrenching
Sarah Adler
september 8, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Gut wrenching doesn’t begin to describe it.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 7 Sep. 2025
This wrenching and ultimately fatal sequence of events puts two design failures in sharp relief.
—David Autor, The Atlantic, 24 Aug. 2025
Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2025
The gut-wrenching drama had audiences reaching for the tissues at Saturday’s premiere.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2025
Thursday evening, for the Phillies, was simply about being present after a gut-wrenching loss.
—Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
One of the most gut-wrenching moments of my life was helping tell this news to the children in our family.
—Jasmine Purdie, Parents, 8 Oct. 2025
Craig Renaud shares the heart-wrenching story of traveling to Ukraine to retrieve his brother’s body and bringing him back home to Arkansas.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2025
Alas, Waller wasn’t targeted again and the Dolphins punted on six of their final seven possessions, succumbing 27-24 in a gut-wrenching loss at Carolina to fall to 1-4.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2025
That would be a wrenching adjustment to household and business incomes if other changes to funding are not made — and such changes also will be hard.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 28 Sep. 2025
In her sit-down with Hudson, Holliday spoke about the legacy of the gut-wrenching ballad and the character, Effie, amid news of the Dreamgirls Broadway revival.
—Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 25 Sep. 2025
Noun
People were calling it tacky, brave, MFA garbage, heart wrenching.
—Sarah Adler
september 8, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Gut wrenching doesn’t begin to describe it.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 7 Sep. 2025
This wrenching and ultimately fatal sequence of events puts two design failures in sharp relief.
—David Autor, The Atlantic, 24 Aug. 2025
Verb
The smoke, the fires, the gunshots, the chaos, the terror, the grief — all of it appears in gut-wrenching detail.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2025
The gut-wrenching drama had audiences reaching for the tissues at Saturday’s premiere.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2025
Thursday evening, for the Phillies, was simply about being present after a gut-wrenching loss.
—Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
One of the most gut-wrenching moments of my life was helping tell this news to the children in our family.
—Jasmine Purdie, Parents, 8 Oct. 2025
Craig Renaud shares the heart-wrenching story of traveling to Ukraine to retrieve his brother’s body and bringing him back home to Arkansas.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2025
Alas, Waller wasn’t targeted again and the Dolphins punted on six of their final seven possessions, succumbing 27-24 in a gut-wrenching loss at Carolina to fall to 1-4.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2025
That would be a wrenching adjustment to household and business incomes if other changes to funding are not made — and such changes also will be hard.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 28 Sep. 2025
In her sit-down with Hudson, Holliday spoke about the legacy of the gut-wrenching ballad and the character, Effie, amid news of the Dreamgirls Broadway revival.
—Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 25 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrenching
Adjective
-
For those who lack access to medical supervision, Kahler said, the safest course is to proceed with an agonizing level of caution.—
Clayton Dalton,
New Yorker,
18 Oct. 2025
-
This isn’t to say writer and director Mary Bronstein’s film, about the agonizing deterioration of a woman whose life is falling down around her in near-apocalyptic fashion, isn’t worth watching.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The Marigold Room, just off the lobby, is an intimate music space and listening room for just 150 guests that’s already pulling national touring acts.—
Jennifer Bradley Franklin,
Travel + Leisure,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Langham stopped the truck by pulling Hagen’s leg off the gas pedal and pushing the brake pedal with her hand.—
KC Baker,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The hawk was found, unable to fly, on a picnic table at a San Jose park in late July, suffering from an open head wound and tearing and swelling in her right eye — impacting her vision, which is integral to hunting for food, according to a press release from PHS/SPCA.—
Caelyn Pender,
Mercury News,
16 Oct. 2025
-
But one player who could be nearing closer to a return is All-Pro receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who hasn’t played since tearing his ACL and MCL against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8 of last season.—
Michael Gallagher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Hiking through the deep snow drifts above 26,000 feet is torturous and time consuming.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Bertino’s chamber piece unfolds over one torturous night and will be exclusive to Paramount’s streaming platform following its world premiere at Fantastic Fest in September.—
Brian Tallerico,
Vulture,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The submarine was accompanied by a tug boat, the Royal Navy said.—
Ellie Cook,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
-
With the script and director seemingly playing a game of tug of war, individual scenes shine without producing a larger, satisfying narrative arc.—
Mathew Rodriguez,
Them.,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Her reporting turns the accident into an albatross around their necks, tearing at their reputations and tugging at all the other skeletons in their closets.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Oct. 2025
-
Jagger practically broke into a trot down the carpet, tugging girlfriend Melanie Hamrick along.—
Leigh Nordstrom,
Footwear News,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky has taken the next logical step in making a Black Hawk helicopter autonomous by not only installing the gear needed for self-flying, but by yanking out the entire cockpit and replacing it with cargo doors.—
David Szondy
October 13,
New Atlas,
13 Oct. 2025
-
However, she was momentarily stopped when one concert goer grabbed her, violently yanking her backwards and into the barricade.—
Rachel McRady,
PEOPLE,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The heaviness, the burning, the pain in my abdomen (which feels eerily similar but far more intense than a UTI at the same time) is excruciating.—
Via Harvest Books,
Literary Hub,
15 Oct. 2025
-
Due to the nature of the explosion, recovery efforts have proven to be excruciating for victims’ families and investigators working to clear the area, potentially detonating and recovering any other explosives in the vicinity and using DNA to identify remains, officials have said.—
Alisha Ebrahimji,
CNN Money,
13 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wrenching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrenching. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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