as in wreck
the destruction or loss of a ship
the wrecking of the freighter was one of the worst disasters ever on the Great Lakes
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in scuttling
to cause irreparable damage to (a ship) by running aground or sinking
many an unwary captain has wrecked his ship on the shoals that surround the island
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in destroying
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
most of the furniture on the ground floor was wrecked by the floodwaters
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Recent Examples of wrecking
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
Robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
Despite the mixed reception, the money counter was an earnest attempt to keep the show running on schedule, preventing one or two self-indulgent speakers from wrecking the running time.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
With Micah Parsons now gone, big shoes are available for any defender willing to bring a big game-wrecking attitude every time Matt Eberflus’ group steps between the lines.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Sep. 2025
The sophomore, who is the youngest player ever voted captain under coach Jay Norvell, was a one-man wrecking crew against the Huskies with a game-high 13 tackles.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 5 Sep. 2025
In April, after the court ruling, Omni again sought a wrecking permit but could not proceed with demolition until securing overlay approval.
—Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, 3 Sep. 2025
The brand nails high-quality essentials that look luxe without wrecking your travel budget.
—Claire Gallam, Travel + Leisure, 27 Aug. 2025
The Athletic came up with a four-teams-in-four-divisions plan that would require Colorado and Tampa Bay to switch leagues but otherwise would leave the NL and AL intact and increase regionalization within the divisions without wrecking historic rivalries.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 22 Aug. 2025
Considered a net-wrecking nuisance by colonial fishermen in the late 1800s and early 1900s, lake sturgeon were destroyed in large numbers.
—Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Noun
The wrecking begins when Carey (Marvin), Paul’s best friend, ill-advisedly sleeps with Julie—and then, more ill-advisedly still, confesses it to Paul the next day.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
Verb
Adam Berry/Getty Images What To Know Phoenix police said in a release to media that a 19-year-old was detained after wrecking a memorial for Kirk at the office of Turning Point USA, the conservative campus group that Kirk co-founded.
—Robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
Despite the mixed reception, the money counter was an earnest attempt to keep the show running on schedule, preventing one or two self-indulgent speakers from wrecking the running time.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
With Micah Parsons now gone, big shoes are available for any defender willing to bring a big game-wrecking attitude every time Matt Eberflus’ group steps between the lines.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Sep. 2025
The sophomore, who is the youngest player ever voted captain under coach Jay Norvell, was a one-man wrecking crew against the Huskies with a game-high 13 tackles.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 5 Sep. 2025
In April, after the court ruling, Omni again sought a wrecking permit but could not proceed with demolition until securing overlay approval.
—Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, 3 Sep. 2025
The brand nails high-quality essentials that look luxe without wrecking your travel budget.
—Claire Gallam, Travel + Leisure, 27 Aug. 2025
The Athletic came up with a four-teams-in-four-divisions plan that would require Colorado and Tampa Bay to switch leagues but otherwise would leave the NL and AL intact and increase regionalization within the divisions without wrecking historic rivalries.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 22 Aug. 2025
Considered a net-wrecking nuisance by colonial fishermen in the late 1800s and early 1900s, lake sturgeon were destroyed in large numbers.
—Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrecking
Noun
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The only movement is that of goats who nibble the long grass that grows around the Cold War aircraft wrecks that litter this forlorn spot on Grenada’s east coast.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
19 Sep. 2025
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The wreck lies nearly 400 feet deep in low-visibility water and yielded some fascinating treasures.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Ever since ousting editor Kevin Merida last year and scuttling the paper’s Kamala Harris presidential endorsement, the billionaire biotech mogul has been musing about what to do with the brand — More conservative voices?—
Erik Hayden,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Aug. 2025
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Heat creates error in the qubits that make a quantum computer tick, scuttling the operations the computer is carrying out.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
22 Jan. 2021
Verb
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The show revolves around three Texas Hill Country ranching family dynasties locked in a contest for control of the land, and their lives and legacies are threatened by outside forces intent on destroying their way of life.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
19 Sep. 2025
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The allocation changes regularly, but as of June 2025, according to Business Insider, destroying a tank was worth eight points.—
Tamar Jacoby,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Most survived the sinking, though 30 people died after their lifeboats were struck by the ship's rotating propellers.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Webb threw his sinking, two-seam fastball just eight times.—
Andrew Baggarly,
New York Times,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Boston ultimately only got three at bats with runners in scoring position, going 1 for 3 while stranding six men, and the Diamondbacks slowly pulled away with an RBI single by McCarthy in the fourth and a sacrifice fly by Blaze Alexander in the seventh.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
7 Sep. 2025
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In July, Alaska issued a ground stop for an IT outage, stranding some passengers on planes.—
Alexandra Skores,
CNN Money,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Car designers love them for not ruining the lines of the door with the necessities of real life, but is the benefit from drag reduction worth the safety risk?—
Jonathan M. Gitlin,
ArsTechnica,
10 Sep. 2025
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And broadcasting your irritation too loudly risks ruining the atmosphere for everyone else just as much as their yelling or off-key chants.—
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott,
Southern Living,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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An image taken on August 19 shows Israeli excavators and bulldozers demolishing buildings in Zeitoun.—
Zeena Saifi,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
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About 90% of the former Spring Hill Mall is gone and work demolishing the final anchor store set to begin in the next couple of weeks, officials said.—
Gloria Casas,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The group also recently stepped out together at a University of Cincinnati football game, which just so happened to be Swift and Kelce’s first public outing since announcing their plans to get married with an internet-shattering post on Instagram in August.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
16 Sep. 2025
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Pamela Warner, mother and manager of the late actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, reflected on the life-shattering moment her son had untimely passed away.—
Taylor Ardrey,
USA Today,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wrecking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrecking. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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