wrested

verb

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in extorted
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 earned
to get with great difficulty farmers who were used to wresting a living from the harsh land

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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

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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

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 wrested Women are wrested from their seats and don’t return. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2026 That was when microbes wrested energy from light and, in the process, breathed new life into the world. — Quanta Magazine, 10 June 2026 Control was wrested back towards the end of the period, a sign of better things to come, even if that profligacy that has dogged them so much reared once again in stoppage time at the end of the half. — Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 28 May 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 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 Eventually, David Ellison’s Paramount wrested WBD out of Netflix’s hands. — Robertas Bakula, Oc Register, 15 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 Amid the fallout, Honarkar lost possession of most of his properties, including the historic Hotel Laguna, where a public scuffle had broken out in 2023 between his security team and guards working for the partner who wrested control of the landmark. — Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrested
  1. pried
  2. extorted
  3. earned
  4. pulled
  5. grabbed
  6. yanked
  7. squeezed
  8. wrenched
Verb
  • My sternum was fractured, my rib cage pried open.
    — Will Mackin, New Yorker, 28 June 2026
  • Lonnie has plenty stacked against him, not least of all his own son, who is inching closer to surpassing his status in the golf world — people are even starting to call him the Hawk, a torch that had to have been pried out of his father’s hand.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 25 June 2026
Definition of pried
Verb
  • The necessity of it to my defence against a more heinous charge could alone have extorted from me so painful an indecorum.
    — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 June 2026
  • Richards attained fame as a pioneering male supermodel in major ad campaigns by the likes of Bruce Weber, Richard Avedon, and Helmut Newton, but all along he was being extorted and exploited by Mierers and his followers to bolster (and bankroll) their shaky, pseudoscientific philosophy.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 June 2026
Definition of extorted
Verb
  • Two seasons later, Dryer earned his one and only Pro Bowl nod.
    — Jim Reineking, USA Today, 6 July 2026
  • Will Richard does all of the little things With the regular Warriors squad, Will Richard earned his minutes by doing all of the unglamorous things on the court.
    — Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 6 July 2026
Definition of earned
Verb
  • Cape Verde almost pulled the biggest upset in World Cup history.
    — Rod Beard, AJC.com, 4 July 2026
  • Garibay’s one-handed save denied Jonathan Ricketts a sure goal in the 64th minute, and Moon pulled a 30-yard opportunity off a poor corner kick clearance just wide left.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 3 July 2026
Definition of pulled
Verb
  • When Kennedy approached the rider and grabbed the handlebars to check whether the bike was registered, the rider refused to get off and allegedly tried to pull away.
    — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
  • Maura Higgins, breakout star of The Traitors, grabbed her best tennis whites to ace the style assignment at Wimbledon 2026.
    — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 1 July 2026
Definition of grabbed
Verb
  • Then, five days after the best start of his young MLB career coincided with one of his worst moments, he was yanked after just 2 1/3 innings in Sunday’s 11-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
    — Spencer Nusbaum, New York Times, 5 July 2026
  • Winco also yanked about 13,500 Roman Candles 8 Shot 3-Pack Firework Devices.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 2 July 2026
Definition of yanked
Verb
  • Since their relationship became public in 2023, the couple has squeezed romance into tour schedules, football obligations and rare breaks from two of the most demanding careers in entertainment and sports.
    — Bryan West, USA Today, 7 July 2026
  • Minerals are not the only sector that have been squeezed as result of the fuel crunch stemming from the Iran war; regular consumers are seeing prices at the petrol pump and supermarkets rise as well.
    — Ruben Nyanguila, semafor.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of squeezed
Verb
  • Henley wrenched away from her mother's grip, turned, and darted up the stairs again, leaving Emily and Kate in startled silence.
    — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 1 May 2026
  • As the plane twisted upward, the air pressure wrenched off another tail fin.
    — Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Definition of wrenched

Browse Nearby Words

wrest
wrested
wresting
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Cite this Entry

“Wrested.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrested. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on wrested

Nglish: Translation of wrested for Spanish Speakers

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