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 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 Last month, the army wrested control of the capital Khartoum from the RSF, forcing it to retreat from the city, in one of its major losses since the start of the war. Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 16 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for wrest
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrest
Verb
  • That laid the groundwork for Iran to retain the capability to continue to use its nuclear program to extort the United States and ultimately build a nuclear weapon.
    Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 12 May 2025
  • Since then, the Club Shay Shay host and his legal team have vehemently denied the allegations and claimed the Jane Doe set up the entire situation with a plan to extort him for $50 million.
    Regina Cho, VIBE.com, 5 May 2025
Verb
  • The house officially earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 2019.
    Iona Brannon, Travel + Leisure, 17 May 2025
  • Power without earned trust and authority without results follow the same trend.
    Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 17 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
  • Combs returns to the scene shortly thereafter and appears to grab at the phone.
    Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 14 May 2025
  • And Golden State, with the seventh-highest odds, also leaped over the Bullets to grab third.
    David Aldridge, New York Times, 13 May 2025
Verb
  • Royalty rates paid by companies to extract oil, gas and coal would be cut, reversing Biden’s attempts to curb fossil fuels to help address climate change.
    Kevin Freking, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2025
  • Like a professional, Blue Ivy carefully extracted the hair from her earring as swiftly as possible, even hitting a few moves with her while sorting out the wardrobe malfunction.
    Starr Bowenbank, People.com, 16 May 2025
Verb
  • Custom Container Living View 8 Images Custom Container Living has transformed a shipping container into an ultra-compact tiny house that squeezes a home for two into just 160 sq ft (14.8 sq m).
    Adam Williams May 08, New Atlas, 8 May 2025
  • Auto dealers, squeezed by President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the industry, are already seeing a tighter supply of vehicles to offer buyers at a time when sticker prices for many models are set to climb. Pine Belt Subaru in Lakewood, New Jersey, normally receives 100 to 120 cars a month.
    Brian Cheung, NBC news, 7 May 2025
Verb
  • The database entry was part of a slide presentation by Texas law enforcement officials obtained through records requests by American Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog group, and shared exclusively with USA TODAY.
    Rick Jervis, USA Today, 18 May 2025
  • The lengthy investigation led to investigators obtaining a warrant for Christian’s arrest which was signed by a judge on Wednesday.
    Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 17 May 2025
Verb
  • At some point, viewers feel as if they’re being tugged along instead of eagerly anticipating the next turn of events.
    Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 16 May 2025
  • Two of the city’s most prominent sports decision-makers, trying to tug their Broncos to the same heights these Nuggets have reached in recent years, were treated to some of the most putrid basketball anyone inside Ball Arena could’ve possibly imagined.
    Luca Evans, Denver Post, 11 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Wrest.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrest. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

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