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
Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
Since avian flu turned eggs into a luxury item, pastry chef Annie Clemmons has spent countless hours in her Maryland workshop, racking her brains about how to replace them in her recipes.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 26 Feb. 2026
Video footage showed Curry shooting with his left hand, racking the gun to fix a malfunction, taking out and reinserting a magazine, then checking his abdomen, apparently realizing he has been shot.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2026
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
Verb
Detectives said the witness also told police about a video that had surfaced online that appeared to show Jones going to his vehicle, retrieving an object, and then making a racking motion consistent with using a gun before walking to where the shooting unfolded.
—Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
Since avian flu turned eggs into a luxury item, pastry chef Annie Clemmons has spent countless hours in her Maryland workshop, racking her brains about how to replace them in her recipes.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 26 Feb. 2026
Video footage showed Curry shooting with his left hand, racking the gun to fix a malfunction, taking out and reinserting a magazine, then checking his abdomen, apparently realizing he has been shot.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for racking
Adjective
-
Another wrenching question, of course, is whether at least the younger Perez siblings would want or need to go with Olga to Guatemala if she were deported.—
Tim Padgett,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Mar. 2026
-
These four novels create a convincing, wrenching, kaleidoscopic picture of the range and repetitions of the most fatal kind of love; the sort of love that allows nothing else to grow around it, that eradicates all dignity; a love which, in order to be completed, must be told.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Having regulations put into place through this upcoming legislation is a win for both sides, especially if the overall revenue problems plaguing college athletics can at least be solved.—
Trey Wallace,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
-
Sixteen months after the Eaton Fire, these are the extreme measures Altadena residents are taking to deal with a host of toxic compounds, including arsenic and asbestos, plaguing their families and properties.—
Aarne Heikkila,
NBC news,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
The Wall Street wine guys of the eighties, now elderly, seem to be pulling the ladder up behind them.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
This entire island’s economy used to depend on them pulling the heavy wooden wheels of old-school olive presses.—
Jennifer Leigh Parker,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
Cholera, a waterborne bacterial disease, has unleashed a perilous wave across southern Africa, with active outbreaks currently afflicting five countries in southern and central Africa.—
John Drake,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
-
Never mind the economic turbulence afflicting the country and the world, driven most recently by rising gas prices because of the war in Iran.—
Stephen Hudak,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
But to even start that journey requires an agonizing, sober look in the mirror.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
18 May 2026
-
In a movie that’s almost operatic in its cymbal clashes of violence, its agonizing tensions and vicious threats, the heartstopping scene in which Hester receives her diagnosis at the doctor’s office is perhaps the single most devastating moment.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
Saddam towered over Iraq’s political regime for nearly 30 years, plunging the country into multiple destructive wars, persecuting his own citizens and inflicting widespread trauma and suffering.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The order also accused the Cuban government of persecuting political opponents, suppressing free speech and the press, and committing other human rights violations—actions that have been documented by human rights organizations over the years.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Sixteen months after leaving Wolves following a torturous end to a once-promising tenure, O’Neil has set about rebuilding his coaching career in the unlikely surroundings of France’s Ligue 1.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Activists claim the animals were living in torturous conditions and were being used for medical research.—
Brady Halbleib,
CBS News,
18 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Apparently, their definition of resistance is to gang rape as many women and men of all ages as possible before torturing, mutilating and murdering them.—
Bobby Zirkin,
Baltimore Sun,
14 May 2026
-
His 39 points on 13-of-18 shooting in Game 3, including 16 in the fourth, evoked images of Hakeem Olajuwon torturing post defenders.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Racking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racking. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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