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
Tim Padgett, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2026
These four novels create a convincing, wrenching, kaleidoscopic picture of the range and repetitions of the most fatal kind of love; the sort of love that allows nothing else to grow around it, that eradicates all dignity; a love which, in order to be completed, must be told.
—Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026
What's going on is absolutely heart-wrenching.
—Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Warfare Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare is an admirable attempt to counter the truism that there’s no such thing as an anti-war movie — that all war movies, however gruesome or wrenching, effectively (and often unwittingly) wind up glamorizing combat to some degree.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
One particularly wrenching moment in the film made an impression on her stepfather, Kurt Russell.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 21 Nov. 2025
Perhaps the most wrenching scene is one in which Anders, seated alone in a busy café, tunes in to ordinary conversations around him.
—Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 8 May 2026
This can feel challenging and heart-wrenching.
—Cori Sears, The Spruce, 22 Jan. 2026
Such is the case in Quiara Alegría Hudes’s wrenching and mordant debut novel, The White Hot, in which 26-year-old April Soto hits her breaking point and walks out on her 10-year-old daughter, Noelle.
—Ruth Madievsky, The Atlantic, 21 Jan. 2026
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
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 9 May 2026
Hours after that gut-wrenching loss, 25-year-old right-hander Ben Joyce pitched for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga.
—Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 30 Apr. 2026
Ultimately, in a gut-wrenching twist, her character dies following complications from preeclampsia and severe postpartum bleeding after giving birth.
—Deirdre Durkan, PEOPLE, 28 Apr. 2026
So Rantanen’s somewhat blasé attitude following Saturday’s wrenching Game 4 loss to the Minnesota Wild — losing the lead with barely five minutes to go on Marcus Foligno’s equalizer, then losing the game in overtime on Matt Boldy’s deflection — was at least well earned.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
It’s based on the dramatic and emotionally wrenching personal life of Southern Gothic author Carson McCullers, a physically frail but powerful novelist, adept at portraying the loneliness and isolation of misfits and outcasts.
—Marcia Luttrell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Apr. 2026
In October 2023, the Central Bucks High School East swim team suffered a gut-wrenching loss when one of their own, 17-year-old Penn State commit Marcus Papanikolaou, died in a car crash.
—Krystle Rich, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2026
Loss, trauma and illness often bring the same wrenching questions of identity and the painful uncertainty of what comes next.
—Keith M. Bellizzi, The Conversation, 13 Apr. 2026
In the heart-wrenching Season 2 finale, Morgan and Karadec’s investigation into a poolside death at a Los Angeles hotel resulted in the arrest of Lucia, a guest relations manager who confesses to tipping off and then covering for the conman who murdered a home improvement reality show host.
—Max Gao, Variety, 8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
Another wrenching question, of course, is whether at least the younger Perez siblings would want or need to go with Olga to Guatemala if she were deported.
—Tim Padgett, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2026
These four novels create a convincing, wrenching, kaleidoscopic picture of the range and repetitions of the most fatal kind of love; the sort of love that allows nothing else to grow around it, that eradicates all dignity; a love which, in order to be completed, must be told.
—Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026
What's going on is absolutely heart-wrenching.
—Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Warfare Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare is an admirable attempt to counter the truism that there’s no such thing as an anti-war movie — that all war movies, however gruesome or wrenching, effectively (and often unwittingly) wind up glamorizing combat to some degree.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
One particularly wrenching moment in the film made an impression on her stepfather, Kurt Russell.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 21 Nov. 2025
Perhaps the most wrenching scene is one in which Anders, seated alone in a busy café, tunes in to ordinary conversations around him.
—Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Noun
Iyer called the case heart-wrenching.
—Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 8 May 2026
This can feel challenging and heart-wrenching.
—Cori Sears, The Spruce, 22 Jan. 2026
Such is the case in Quiara Alegría Hudes’s wrenching and mordant debut novel, The White Hot, in which 26-year-old April Soto hits her breaking point and walks out on her 10-year-old daughter, Noelle.
—Ruth Madievsky, The Atlantic, 21 Jan. 2026
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
Verb
The wrenching documentary about a father’s desperate search for his missing teenage son won the Golden Alexander at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival in Greece in March and premiered in World Cinema Documentary Competition at Sundance.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 9 May 2026
Hours after that gut-wrenching loss, 25-year-old right-hander Ben Joyce pitched for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga.
—Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 30 Apr. 2026
Ultimately, in a gut-wrenching twist, her character dies following complications from preeclampsia and severe postpartum bleeding after giving birth.
—Deirdre Durkan, PEOPLE, 28 Apr. 2026
So Rantanen’s somewhat blasé attitude following Saturday’s wrenching Game 4 loss to the Minnesota Wild — losing the lead with barely five minutes to go on Marcus Foligno’s equalizer, then losing the game in overtime on Matt Boldy’s deflection — was at least well earned.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
It’s based on the dramatic and emotionally wrenching personal life of Southern Gothic author Carson McCullers, a physically frail but powerful novelist, adept at portraying the loneliness and isolation of misfits and outcasts.
—Marcia Luttrell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Apr. 2026
In October 2023, the Central Bucks High School East swim team suffered a gut-wrenching loss when one of their own, 17-year-old Penn State commit Marcus Papanikolaou, died in a car crash.
—Krystle Rich, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2026
Loss, trauma and illness often bring the same wrenching questions of identity and the painful uncertainty of what comes next.
—Keith M. Bellizzi, The Conversation, 13 Apr. 2026
In the heart-wrenching Season 2 finale, Morgan and Karadec’s investigation into a poolside death at a Los Angeles hotel resulted in the arrest of Lucia, a guest relations manager who confesses to tipping off and then covering for the conman who murdered a home improvement reality show host.
—Max Gao, Variety, 8 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrenching
Adjective
-
The kidnapping has been a highly public, agonizing ordeal for Savannah Guthrie, who only recently returned to her morning show seat alongside Craig Melvin.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
11 May 2026
-
Politicians are polling, strategizing — and agonizing.—
Anthony Man,
Sun Sentinel,
9 May 2026
Verb
-
The same numbers powering that rally show capital pulling further ahead of labor.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
10 May 2026
-
The digital twin created for one of Rajasthan’s largest state utilities mapped 5 million grid assets—poles, lines, transformers, and network infrastructure—by pulling together feeder, meter, and billing data previously stored in separate silos.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2026
Verb
-
Katie Lou Samuelson, Collier’s UConn classmate, missed the 2025 season after tearing her ACL during training camp with the Seattle Storm.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
11 May 2026
-
One of the state’s most infamous tornadoes, this massive F4 touched down near Holliday before tearing into Wichita Falls.—
Brandi D. Addison,
USA Today,
11 May 2026
Adjective
-
Sixteen months after leaving Wolves following a torturous end to a once-promising tenure, O’Neil has set about rebuilding his coaching career in the unlikely surroundings of France’s Ligue 1.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Activists claim the animals were living in torturous conditions and were being used for medical research.—
Brady Halbleib,
CBS News,
18 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Give the potato a gentle tug to check for resistance.—
Barbara Gillette,
The Spruce,
10 May 2026
-
Kalundborg, Denmark — On a boat off Kalundborg harbor, Martin Høgh Sørensen steers while his wife, Karin, and friends Michael and Anne-Louise Eliasen tug and wind ropes to maneuver the sails.—
Anna Cooban,
CNN Money,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
The rejection hit me hard—the story, of the daughter of a celebrity chef who moves to a small town after being adopted by her older brother, was really tugging at my heartstrings.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 May 2026
-
Earlier this month, Chelsea Women’s head coach Sonia Bompastor took umbrage with Arsenal’s Katie McCabe tugging the locks of Alyssa Thompson during a Champions League tie.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
Essentially, yanking gravity away is another tool, just like temperature or pressure, that drug manufacturers can apply to improve their products.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
13 May 2026
-
Now, the Sentinel has learned, Florida is taking an inconsistent approach to cleaning up its mess, yanking the licenses of 47 nurses who attended schools cited by the FBI but allowing others to keep working, even when it has been alerted to their shortcomings.—
Annie Martin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 May 2026
Adjective
-
An investigation by Bloomberg Law and NBC News last year found dozens of women who were jailed, often for low-level offenses, and suffered miscarriages or excruciating births in dirty cells.—
Abigail Brooks,
NBC news,
13 May 2026
-
Kevin Hart subjected himself to one of comedy’s most hallowed and excruciating traditions last night, the roast.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
11 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wrenching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrenching. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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