WRESTED Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

wrested

verb

Definition of wrested next

past tense of wrest

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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in earned

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

as in grabbed

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

reattached

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 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 My parents were just children when they were wrested from their homes into tarpaper barracks surrounded by barbed wire. —

Julie Morita, Chicago Tribune, 19 Feb. 2026 Having wrested himself from Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, the great choreographer has sought to remake himself and his work in Denmark. —

Marina Harss, The New York Review of Books, 19 Feb. 2026 The constitution was thus wrested from the Iranian people and appropriated by a ruling cadre that imposed its own interpretation of Islamic law upon them. —

Ramin Jahanbegloo, Time, 3 Feb. 2026 The rise of hip-hop and the films of Spike Lee in the late 1980s and early 1990s forced a revival of Malcolm X, a reclaiming of him by Black America, wrested from his historical framing by the white mainstream, which during his time did not love him. —

Literary Hub, 21 Jan. 2026 Ja'Quan McMillian wrested the ball from Bills receiver Brandin Cooks as the two tumbled to the ground in overtime. —

Mike Sando, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2026 McMillian wrested the ball away from Brandin Cooks at the Broncos 20-yard line when a field goal would have won the game for Buffalo (13-6). —

Arnie Stapleton, Baltimore Sun, 18 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrested

Verb

Someone pried open the mailbox of a residence in the 18000 block of Vessing Road, causing damage estimated at approximately $1,200.

— Anne Gelhaus, Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2026
The officers pried open the panel to free the woman, who was unable to get out of the tank on her own, according to the court records.

— Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026