1
as in pulled
to move by or as if by a forceful rotation
with one last sharp yank, he wrenched the lid off the bottle of ketchup
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
3
as in yanked
to separate or remove by forceful pulling
wrenched the post out of the ground
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 wrenched
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
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
And yet so much of the film community’s focus has been wrenched out of the past into an urgent present and uncertain future.
—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
30 Jan. 2026
In a moment when even humanitarian work around these regions can be wrenched by bad-faith political agendas, Mustafa’s framing of the purpose of Saturday’s show was savvy and measured.
—
Los Angeles Times,
11 Jan. 2026
And Ahmed al-Ahmed, who came to Australia from Syria in 2006, a former policeman who now owns a fruit stand at Bondi Beach, tackled one of the gunmen and wrenched the rifle from him, even as he was wounded himself.
—
Scott Simon,
NPR,
20 Dec. 2025
The man then tackled the shooter and wrenched the gun away from him.
—
Anders Hagstrom , Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
14 Dec. 2025
In the video, one officer wrenched the bathroom door open.
—
Idaho Statesman,
14 Nov. 2025
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
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
And yet so much of the film community’s focus has been wrenched out of the past into an urgent present and uncertain future.
—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
30 Jan. 2026
In a moment when even humanitarian work around these regions can be wrenched by bad-faith political agendas, Mustafa’s framing of the purpose of Saturday’s show was savvy and measured.
—
Los Angeles Times,
11 Jan. 2026
And Ahmed al-Ahmed, who came to Australia from Syria in 2006, a former policeman who now owns a fruit stand at Bondi Beach, tackled one of the gunmen and wrenched the rifle from him, even as he was wounded himself.
—
Scott Simon,
NPR,
20 Dec. 2025
The man then tackled the shooter and wrenched the gun away from him.
—
Anders Hagstrom , Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
14 Dec. 2025
In the video, one officer wrenched the bathroom door open.
—
Idaho Statesman,
14 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrenched
Verb
-
After the network successfully pulled together a motley crew of Real Housewives offspring and their Manhattan socialite friends last year, the gang is back for a second season in the city.
-
Arraez pulled a 1-1 curveball from the Athletics’ Aaron Civale off the top of his right foot and collapsed to the ground in pain.
Verb
-
For the past couple of years, volunteers have cut grass, trimmed and yanked out invasive vines.
-
Roberts quickly gave up a run-scoring single to Christian Yelich and was yanked with the bases loaded and no outs.
Verb
-
The border shifted and changed hands here at least four times in the 19th century and a fifth time in the 20th, tugged south by war and treaty, peace talks and purchases.
-
In bringing a piece of her mother to the event, Obama tugged at a feeling that many will relate to – wishing a late family member could be with you during life’s milestone moments.
Verb
-
In 2021, disaster nearly erased the landmark entirely when a fire tore through much of the restaurant, heavily damaging the building.
-
In the hours after two earthquakes tore through northern Venezuela on the evening of June 24, the people pulling survivors from the rubble were, overwhelmingly, the survivors’ own neighbors.
Verb
-
Once the squid gather near the surface, lines fitted with bait are lowered into the water and rapidly jerked up and down to imitate small prey such as shrimp, triggering strikes before the catch is reeled aboard.
-
Suddenly, the tent jerked and wobbled.
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.
-
Maura Higgins, breakout star of The Traitors, grabbed her best tennis whites to ace the style assignment at Wimbledon 2026.
Verb
-
On the walls, black-and-white printouts of newspaper articles, magazines and book pages looked like they were plucked from a Pinterest board on scrapbooking.
-
Despite his young age, the then 36-year-old was far from a nobody plucked from the ether, though.
Verb
-
Lamine Yamal, with the ball bouncing inside the box, spun and ripped a shot that Austria's goalkeeper just stopped for a corner kick.
-
The statement also ripped Shipnuck for citing a source in which Mickelson's wife, Amy, played a role in his departures from clubs.
Cite this Entry
“Wrenched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrenched. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
