WREST Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

wrest

verb

ˈrest

Definition of wrest

as in to pry

to draw out by force or with effort the boy wrested the book out of his sister's hands

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to extort

to get (as money) by the use of force or threats vowed that the bully had wrested his lunch money from him for the last time

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in to earn

to get with great difficulty farmers who were used to wresting a living from the harsh land

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in to pull

to move by or as if by a forceful rotation I need a strong arm to wrest the lid off this pickle jar

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in to grab

to separate or remove by forceful pulling wrested open the stuck door of the cabinet

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

reattach

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 wrest Another unidentified witness saw the struggle and wrested the knife from Rivas, according to police. — David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 3 Aug. 2026 If New England somehow wrests the divison away from Buffalo, Vrabel gets serious consideration. — Darren Cooper, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026 In this case, the production company Embassy Pictures wrested control of Crimewave away from Raimi after a challenging shoot, leading the director to disavow the film. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 22 July 2026 The Smithsonian Institution, which oversees twenty-one museums, among other establishments, operates independently from the executive branch of the government, which makes wresting control over it more difficult. — News Desk, Artforum, 15 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for wrest

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrest

Verb

Jackson’s availability was curbed by red cards at Chelsea — in Bruges, a barge and shirt pull with defender Han-Beom Lee suggested those flickers of fury and confrontation still burn.

— Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
When his brother pleads for help, Tariq is pulled back into the London criminal underworld and the dangerous orbit of their crime boss mother.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of pull

Verb

Some cyber criminals may be trying to extort money from a victim.

— Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
Clement later successfully extorted one of Roshanki’s friends for $5,000 in drug proceeds, then insisted that Roshanski owed him money for drugs and fraud.

— Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of extort

Verb

This is an exciting step forward for Eisenberg the director, who had a breakthrough a couple of years ago with the lovely A Real Pain, which earned co-star Kieran Culkin an Academy Award.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2026
This confidence is also hard to earn, due to a long Premier League season.

— Beren Cross, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of earn

Verb

WashWise recommends holding the spray 8 to 12 inches away, applying a light mist and smoothing or gently tugging the fabric to release wrinkles.

— Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Sep. 2026
In Gold Hill, Sullivan's brother-in-law solved the bear-in-Toyota problem by tugging a rope tied to a door handle.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of tug

Verb

Emmys nights one and two saw Widow’s Bay pick up a whopping eight trophies, one short of The Studio’s total of nine last year, and this evening might end with Widow’s Bay grabbing a lot of the same awards The Studio did last year.

— Vulture Staff, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
Researchers have long recognized that humor can grab attention, deepen social connection, and build attraction.

— Norbert Schwarz, Harvard Business Review, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of grab

Verb

Institute of Process Engineering (CAS), alongside Ganfeng Lithium, has launched the world’s first 500-tonne annual capacity production line in Jiangxi province to extract rubidium and cesium from lithium mining waste.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 15 Sep. 2026
True economic success in 2026 isn’t about extracting the last dollar from a negative-margin middle class.

— Katica Roy, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of extract

Verb

Oil prices, meanwhile, continued to climb as fighting in the Middle East keeps squeezing the global flow of crude.

— Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
The price for a barrel of Brent crude went above $109 on Monday morning as fighting in the Middle East keeps squeezing the global flow of oil.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of squeeze

Verb

In the initial complaint obtained by USA TODAY, Said claimed she was placed on an all-male team that included Gutman and two other crew members.

— Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026
Only 15% had a criminal conviction, according to a Tribune analysis of federal data obtained by the research group Deportation Data Project.

— Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of obtain

Browse Nearby Words

wrenching

wrest

wrested

See all Nearby Words

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Style

“Wrest.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrest. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of wrest

verb

Example Sentences

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