1
as in pried
to draw out by force or with effort
the boy wrested the book out of his sister's hands
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
4
as in pulled
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
5
as in grabbed
to separate or remove by forceful pulling
wrested open the stuck door of the cabinet
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wrested
Women are wrested from their seats and don’t return.
—
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2026
OpenAI briefly considered plans to transition into a for-profit company in 2024, which would have wrested control from the nonprofit and kept it as a separate arm.
—Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2026
Feinberg had wrested some decision making on shipbuilding away from Phelan, according to two officials familiar with the matter.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 23 Apr. 2026
Democrats wrested control of the Legislature from Republicans in 1954, the year Ariyoshi won the first of two terms in the Territorial House of Representatives.
—ABC News, 20 Apr. 2026
Eventually, David Ellison’s Paramount wrested WBD out of Netflix’s hands.
—Robertas Bakula, Oc Register, 15 Apr. 2026
And in that quest for unbridled growth, the AI industry has wrested ungodly amounts of capital from investors all looking for the next big thing, ensnaring the entire economy.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026
Prasad and top drug regulator Tracy Beth Høeg have wrested control of vaccine surveillance from career staff.
—Lizzy Lawrence, STAT, 6 Mar. 2026
Fast forward to 2025 when the total outlays are now north of $7 trillion a year, more than a 360% increase in national spending in the 30 years since term limits were wrested from the American public.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2026
OpenAI briefly considered plans to transition into a for-profit company in 2024, which would have wrested control from the nonprofit and kept it as a separate arm.
—Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2026
Feinberg had wrested some decision making on shipbuilding away from Phelan, according to two officials familiar with the matter.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 23 Apr. 2026
Democrats wrested control of the Legislature from Republicans in 1954, the year Ariyoshi won the first of two terms in the Territorial House of Representatives.
—ABC News, 20 Apr. 2026
Eventually, David Ellison’s Paramount wrested WBD out of Netflix’s hands.
—Robertas Bakula, Oc Register, 15 Apr. 2026
And in that quest for unbridled growth, the AI industry has wrested ungodly amounts of capital from investors all looking for the next big thing, ensnaring the entire economy.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026
Prasad and top drug regulator Tracy Beth Høeg have wrested control of vaccine surveillance from career staff.
—Lizzy Lawrence, STAT, 6 Mar. 2026
Fast forward to 2025 when the total outlays are now north of $7 trillion a year, more than a 360% increase in national spending in the 30 years since term limits were wrested from the American public.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrested
Verb
-
The burglars pried open a window to get into a room on the second floor.—
Tracy Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Kemp says everything was ransacked, doors were broken, drawers and cupboards pried open, and empty cash boxes were on display.—
Alysia Burgio,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
To dispose of his body, the group allegedly used a familiar method, placing it in a crematorium furnace in a local funeral home whose owner was being extorted by another Hells Angels member.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Kraken, one of the world’s oldest crypto exchanges, said it’s being extorted by a criminal group that claims to have access to some client account information.—
Olga Kharif,
Bloomberg,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Bermudez earned her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and has been a member of the state bar since 2005.—
Teri Figueroa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Zuhn earned All-SEC honors each of the past two seasons and shared the 2025 SEC Jacobs Blocking Trophy (top blocker in the SEC) with Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor.—
Sam Warren,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
That’s when Talley allegedly pulled the pistol out from under a blanket, shooting one officer in the face and a second in the chin, authorities said.—
Meredith Colias-Pete,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The Dodgers pulled within 2-1 in the eighth inning when Freddie Freeman singled with one out to put runners on the corners and Smith delivered an RBI single to right field off of right-hander Michael Petersen.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Stephens and her daughter had gone to bed when Knight grabbed knives from the kitchen, walked into their bedroom and attacked the woman as her daughter lay next to her.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The witness said a woman believed to be a store employee grabbed at a backpack carried by one of the men, prompting that man to throw a punch at her.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson could’ve yanked him for the veteran Harrison Barnes.—
Christian Clark,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Jackson’s music was also yanked from several radio stations in New Zealand, but eventually re-added.—
Amelia McDonell-Parry,
Rolling Stone,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Traditional paths to entry-level work, especially in tech, are already being squeezed as companies automate routine work.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Margins on low-cost airlines are always tight, and fuel is an outsized cost which means they’re already being squeezed hard by the energy shock.—
Hugh Leask,
CNBC,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
As the plane twisted upward, the air pressure wrenched off another tail fin.—
Burkhard Bilger,
New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Experts believe the crown’s flexible mount was strained when thieves wrenched it from its display through a narrow slot cut by the angle grinder, according to a report by the Louvre.—
Laura Sharman,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wrested.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrested. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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