as in wrenching
intensely or unbearably painful
a racking cough kept him awake all night
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in plaguing
to cause persistent suffering to
the young man was racked with guilt over the lie he had told to his parents the country has been racked by years of civil war
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pulling
to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure
she racked her brain trying to remember where she'd put the money the sails of the boat were racked by the storm's winds
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of racking
Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 4 Feb. 2026
He was accused of taking his gun out of his holster, racking the gun and pointing it at both people.
—Jeff A. Chamer
december 11, Charlotte Observer, 11 Dec. 2025
The machines autonomously lifted and placed panels onto racking structures, at the Goorambat East site, located near the city of Benalla, approximately 130 miles northeast of Melbourne.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2025
But after racking just two flags through the first half's first 29 minutes, a critical pass-interference penalty in the final seconds moved Kansas City into position to kick a go-ahead field goal and provide the 9-6 halftime margin.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 22 Sep. 2025
Then came the rise of racking systems, e-commerce fulfillment and the drive for cubic efficiency.
—Allen Buchanan, Oc Register, 20 Sep. 2025
The Wiggles are a powerhouse, racking-up more than 30 million sales of albums and DVDs, and upwards of 8 million book sales.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Verb
On the small screen, the influencer Gabriella Carr recently drew her sizable flock to a rejection spreadsheet, where the video creator and actress means to track all her professional door-slams with an eye to racking ’em up.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 4 Feb. 2026
He was accused of taking his gun out of his holster, racking the gun and pointing it at both people.
—Jeff A. Chamer
december 11, Charlotte Observer, 11 Dec. 2025
The machines autonomously lifted and placed panels onto racking structures, at the Goorambat East site, located near the city of Benalla, approximately 130 miles northeast of Melbourne.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2025
But after racking just two flags through the first half's first 29 minutes, a critical pass-interference penalty in the final seconds moved Kansas City into position to kick a go-ahead field goal and provide the 9-6 halftime margin.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 22 Sep. 2025
Then came the rise of racking systems, e-commerce fulfillment and the drive for cubic efficiency.
—Allen Buchanan, Oc Register, 20 Sep. 2025
The Wiggles are a powerhouse, racking-up more than 30 million sales of albums and DVDs, and upwards of 8 million book sales.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for racking
Adjective
-
Vietnam was inextricably linked to a wrenching era in American history, as Blacks were being compelled to fight a war on two fronts—for equality at home and a nation’s hubris abroad.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Feb. 2026
-
What's going on is absolutely heart-wrenching.—
Kiki Intarasuwan,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Even cursory nods to the pandemic as the root cause of neighbors turning against neighbors aren’t explored so much as they’re acknowledged, as if viewers are somehow unaware of the polarization plaguing America.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
13 Feb. 2026
-
The House passed a bipartisan housing bill that would enact new policies to boost housing supply and ease the affordability crisis plaguing the nation.—
Zach Halaschak,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
After that setback, the Seahawks lost their edge to stay ahead of a league designed to keep pulling teams toward the middle.—
Jerry Brewer,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Yet the final also required Vonn to push her knee further than in either of her two training runs, when she could be seen pulling back around some turns so as not to exert too much strain before the main event.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
But the overlap with unusually frigid temperatures afflicting Florida's Space Coast and the rest of the country have turned Crew-12's launch opportunities into an intricate dance around Artemis 2.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Their bread-and-butter is comforting the most comfortable by afflicting the most afflicted.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
After an agonizing two and a half weeks of waiting, of back and forth, of praying, at the very last minute the judge finally gave her ruling in favor of TPS for Haiti.—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Feb. 2026
-
For those wearing the putative target on their back, this can surely be agonizing.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Troops are occupying our cities and persecuting our people.—
Maria Guinnip,
Oklahoman,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Trump has repeatedly alleged that the South African government is actively persecuting white citizens, particularly farmers.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
These individually wrapped peanut butter and oat bites are a suitable lunch box treat, or fuel for people who take long bike rides and other torturous endurance sports.—
Alex Beggs,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
7 Feb. 2026
-
The many comparisons the researchers tested show a torturous pathway to a significant finding.—
Eleanor M. Perfetto,
STAT,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Yorgos Lanthimos, Florian Zeller and Juliette Binoche are among more than 800 film professionals who have signed a joint statement condemning the Iranian government for killing and torturing its own people.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Dan Bujor, who lives out of a school bus parked in Long Island City, was arrested Sunday on charges including overdriving animals, torturing and injuring animals and failure to provide sustenance, in addition to driving without a license, in connection with the bizarre incident, cops said.—
Roni Jacobson,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Racking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racking. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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