wrack

verb

Definition of wracknext
as in to ruin
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of it's amazing how a raging sea can wrack a seemingly sturdy beachfront home

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 wrack Through more than a dozen conversations with the cast and writers, Deadline has weaved together an oral history of the series from those nerve-wracking early days on Season 1 to the bittersweet end of production in December 2025. — Katie Campione, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2026 Complicating efforts to contain the spread of the deadly virus is the fact that this part of the DRC has been wracked by violence for decades, leaving huge numbers of people displaced and struggling to feed their families. — Helen Branswell, STAT, 16 Sep. 2026 Members of Mastodon said they were wracked with grief when their cofounder and former guitarist was killed in a motorcycle crash last summer. — Asia Simone Burns, AJC.com, 10 Sep. 2026 The dam to my grief burst into loud, gut-wrenching sobs, wracking my body and crushing my soul. — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for wrack
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrack
  1. ruin
  2. destroy
  3. wreck
  4. devastate
  5. shatter
  6. demolish
Verb
  • Burdick seemed to have drawn directly from McCarthy’s experience, the hopelessness of fighting with his father over a world his father had already ruined, the surrender to indulgence and mindless violence because…why not?
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Each room is also outfitted with a Yale smart lock, which means there’s no room for that horrible feeling of losing a room key to ruin your vacation.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of ruin
Verb
  • Cities outside Paris have been hit hard by the unrest, including Limoges where a fire nearly destroyed the 19th-century city hall.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Animal diseases also threaten our economy and food system, destroying more than 20% of global livestock production each year.
    — Robert Kelly, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of destroy
Verb
  • Just as Bryan’s own ascent began, alcoholism almost wrecked his fellow Oklahoma heroes, Turnpike Troubadours.
    — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Some people make money, some people use the buzz to shore up a brand, and some people get their lives wrecked, but who falls into this last category comes down to bad luck more than to justice.
    — B. D. McClay, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of wreck
Verb
  • For two years, the war in Gaza devastated the Palestinian enclave, killed tens of thousands of people, and left Israeli hostages languishing in captivity.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The rain is raising concerns in Altadena once again for families devastated by the Eaton Fire.
    — Jasmine Viel, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of devastate
Verb
  • In a country so small and intimately connected, scarcely anyone was untouched by events that shattered the assumptions of a people whose nation was founded to give Jews a safe haven in their ancestral homeland.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 26 Oct. 2026
  • In fact, 2026 has already shattered the Biden-era record for the most number of days with $4 gas or higher.
    — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of shatter
Verb
  • The building’s owner previously told The Star the building would not be demolished and that it could be redeveloped.
    — Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The 18-year-old female elephant got loose from her handler outside her enclosure, then went on the run, demolishing the door of a saloon on North Avenue, smashing in the window of another and walking through the fence around a vacant lot.
    — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of demolish

Browse Nearby Words

wowsers
wrack
wracked
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Cite this Entry

“Wrack.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrack. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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