wrest

1
as in to pry
to draw out by force or with effort the boy wrested the book out of his sister's hands

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2
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

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3
as in to earn
to get with great difficulty farmers who were used to wresting a living from the harsh land

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4
5
as in to grab
to separate or remove by forceful pulling wrested open the stuck door of the cabinet

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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 Already, new leaders in Beirut and Damascus are working to wrest their countries from Iran’s influence over their security and politics. Dana Stroul, Foreign Affairs, 2 Apr. 2025 However, the Rockets wrested momentum right back from the Warriors with their 109-94 win on Wednesday. Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025 By 1994, Armenian forces had wrested control of Nagorno-Karabakh and some of the adjacent Azerbaijani territories, driving out locals. Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025 The surfer wrested himself free but not without a good bite to his butt. Stacie N. Galang, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for wrest
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrest
Verb
  • He should have been arrested right then and there for the FBI for trying to extort Natalie's mother.
    Audrey Conklin, FOXNews.com, 30 May 2025
  • Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, then alleged in a legal filing that Lively was attempting to extort a statement of support from Swift.
    Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2025
Verb
  • Vogue may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers.
    Laure Guilbault, Vogue, 29 May 2025
  • Information submitted anonymously to the hotline can earn a reward of up to $25,000.
    Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 29 May 2025
Verb
  • Brands began to pull together resources to support refugees.
    Stephan Rabimov, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2023
  • The 13-minute performance will likely call for a healthy dose of vibrant, colored lighting to pull it all together.
    Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 10 Feb. 2023
Verb
  • Appeal To All Five Senses People still like going out, meeting others and grabbing coffee.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
  • Scott grabbed some pizza and returned to park her Subaru near the West Shore Market to wait for Serafini.
    Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 6 June 2025
Verb
  • The scent, which exists in the plant's oils, needs to be extracted.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 June 2025
  • The system extracts key data points in seconds—interpreting not just text but also images and tables—streamlining a process that once consumed thousands of human hours.
    Rhett Power, Forbes.com, 8 June 2025
Verb
  • In some towns, utility poles were removed so the caravans could squeeze through.
    Angela Jackson, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
  • Hundreds of people squeezed into the Jewish Community Center in Boulder, Colo., for a vigil that featured prayer, singing and emotional testimony from a victim and witnesses of the firebombing attack in the city’s downtown, after a federal judge blocked the deportation of the suspect’s family.
    Colleen Slevin, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025
Verb
  • Doreen Greenwald, who replaced Reardon as the president of the national union and is a former IRS employee, responded to Bruce’s concerns in an October 2023 letter also obtained by USA TODAY.
    Erin Mansfield, USA Today, 29 May 2025
  • Richard accused his daughter of vandalizing his home in 2000 and of making an unauthorized withdrawal from his bank account in 2003, according to call logs and incident reports obtained by the outlet.
    Emily Blackwood, People.com, 29 May 2025
Verb
  • His story has tugged at the heartstrings of thousands of viewers online, reigniting faith in pet rescue stories.
    Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 May 2025
  • The viewing party tugged at the heartstrings of their costars, who reacted in the comments section.
    Sophie Dodd, People.com, 6 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Wrest.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrest. Accessed 12 Jun. 2025.

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