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
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Recent Examples of wrack
Still, the advance notice could help a tenant avoid wracking up a legal history, which can make finding another apartment difficult.
—
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 4 Jan. 2026
Local officials began wracking their brains for future uses for the sprawling, 53-acre site, which includes older buildings, and some that hold historic designations.
—Sacbee.com, 30 Dec. 2025
For decades, Mindanao has been wracked by unrest and conflict, including clashes between authorities and a local separatist movement with widespread allegations of human rights abuses from all parties.
—Jinky Jorgio, CNN Money, 18 Dec. 2025
After weeks of captivating blind auditions, nerve-wracking eliminations and the high-stakes playoffs round, each coach selected one artist from their team to advance to the finale.
—Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 9 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wrack
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 4 Jan. 2026
Local officials began wracking their brains for future uses for the sprawling, 53-acre site, which includes older buildings, and some that hold historic designations.
—Sacbee.com, 30 Dec. 2025
For decades, Mindanao has been wracked by unrest and conflict, including clashes between authorities and a local separatist movement with widespread allegations of human rights abuses from all parties.
—Jinky Jorgio, CNN Money, 18 Dec. 2025
After weeks of captivating blind auditions, nerve-wracking eliminations and the high-stakes playoffs round, each coach selected one artist from their team to advance to the finale.
—Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 9 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wrack
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrack
Verb
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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
1 Feb. 2026
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To say much more would be to ruin the wild twists and turns that unfold as the night marches onward.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But when a man from Anne’s past returns from war, a curse begins to take shape through a mysterious knight and threatens to destroy them all.—
Jessica Radloff,
Glamour,
1 Feb. 2026
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Plenty of plants were destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires, of course, especially highly flammable shrubs like tall, skinny arborvitae.—
Jeanette Marantos,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Italians fought and lost to Robert Moses’s wrecking whims; Puerto Ricans who could fled to Jersey for the privilege of a backyard.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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The hits wrecked the vehicle and deployed at least one of the airbags, according to the report.—
Anders Hagstrom,
FOXNews.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Grand Canyon National Park is preparing to reopen portions of the North Rim after the Dragon Bravo Fire devastated the region last summer.—
Sarah Henry,
AZCentral.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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Through its Quds Force, the Guard backed regional groups including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, but recent Israeli strikes have devastated its network.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The sequence of Enoch among the heavenly hosts, violent, shattering with Blakeian geometry and color.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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Family describes unimaginable grief In a statement, Grace Brito's mother, Tracy Brito, described a family shattered by the loss of their daughter.—
Marvin Hurst,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The World Food Program said in an earlier statement that its warehouse was demolished by Somali authorities.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
30 Jan. 2026
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The building will be demolished to make way for an 86-unit affordable housing development, according to board documents.—
Kate Armanini,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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An agent pepper sprayed him, smashed his window and dragged him out of the car, according to his account.—
Jude Joffe-Block,
NPR,
31 Jan. 2026
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By smashing together heavy atoms of lead traveling at near-light speeds using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), scientists can create a high-energy environment that briefly frees gluons and quarks from this atomic bondage, recreating the quark-gluon plasma of the early universe.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wrack.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrack. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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