as in agonizing
intensely or unbearably painful
forced to make the emotionally wrenching decision to place her mother in a nursing home
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in twisting
a forceful rotating or pulling motion for the purpose of dislodging something
after a lot of wrenching and tugging, the plumber managed to pull the stubborn pipe free
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in pulling
to move by or as if by a forceful rotation
with one last sharp yank, he wrenched the lid off the bottle of ketchup
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in damaging
to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure
wrenched her shoulder by all of that heavy lifting
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in tearing
to separate or remove by forceful pulling
wrenched the post out of the ground
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wrenching
Mark Travers, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025
The book’s most wrenching passages describe his administration’s treatment of the women, who were often assaulted by mobs while police looked on.
—Barbara Spindel, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Jan. 2025
Carol remembers overhearing the gut-wrenching phone call between her father and her grandmother.
—Anna Turning, NBC News, 29 Dec. 2024
Synergy became key to the naturalism that makes the domestic drama so wrenching.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
The heart wrenching film, based on a book by author Colleen Hoover, follows a flower shop owner named Lily Blossom Bloom (Lively), who falls in love with a dashing neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni) and reconnects with her stoic childhood sweetheart, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar).
—Jay Stahl, USA TODAY, 21 Dec. 2024
Her wrenching performances in Dublin brought her back to stardom on the London stage.
—Bob Blaisdell, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Dec. 2024
On Saturday, the franchise had to make another gut-wrenching injury announcement.
—Jason Beede, Orlando Sentinel, 8 Dec. 2024
But looking to bounce back from the sting of a gut-wrenching loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, the Lakers (13-11) took care of business, beating the Blazers 107-98 to end their three-game losing streak.
—Khobi Price, Orange County Register, 8 Dec. 2024
Verb
For others, the idea evokes gut-wrenching fear and anxiety.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025
The book’s most wrenching passages describe his administration’s treatment of the women, who were often assaulted by mobs while police looked on.
—Barbara Spindel, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Jan. 2025
Carol remembers overhearing the gut-wrenching phone call between her father and her grandmother.
—Anna Turning, NBC News, 29 Dec. 2024
Synergy became key to the naturalism that makes the domestic drama so wrenching.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
The heart wrenching film, based on a book by author Colleen Hoover, follows a flower shop owner named Lily Blossom Bloom (Lively), who falls in love with a dashing neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni) and reconnects with her stoic childhood sweetheart, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar).
—Jay Stahl, USA TODAY, 21 Dec. 2024
Her wrenching performances in Dublin brought her back to stardom on the London stage.
—Bob Blaisdell, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Dec. 2024
On Saturday, the franchise had to make another gut-wrenching injury announcement.
—Jason Beede, Orlando Sentinel, 8 Dec. 2024
But looking to bounce back from the sting of a gut-wrenching loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, the Lakers (13-11) took care of business, beating the Blazers 107-98 to end their three-game losing streak.
—Khobi Price, Orange County Register, 8 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrenching
Adjective
-
An agonizing and eventful 42 minutes later, elation erupted throughout the century-old ballpark as rookie catcher Carlos Narváez clocked a single off the wall for a 2-1 walk-off win for the Red Sox in the 10th inning.—
Jen McCaffrey,
New York Times,
14 June 2025
-
An alligator that narrowly escaped poachers in Florida was left in an agonizing predicament when a cord cinched to its head began slicing off its nose, a YouTube video shows.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
13 June 2025
Verb
-
An executive order, delivered Friday, cites national security concerns for pulling the deal.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
3 Jan. 2025
-
Advertisement The lawsuit comes as insurers have been pulling back from California’s home insurance market en masse, often citing the risk of catastrophic events brought on by climate change.—
Andrea Chang,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Homages to the Bethesda games’ slow-motion kills are aplenty, with gratuitous shots of bullets tearing through bodies and painting the walls red.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
24 Dec. 2024
-
Higbee was on the physically unable to perform list after tearing his back ACL and MCL last postseason.—
Antwan Staley,
New York Daily News,
22 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Included in that torturous run was a 24-game losing streak.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
1 June 2025
-
Jenkins wants to retire to focus on her health, leaving a legacy of having led her community through a torturous time.—
Curtis Bunn,
NBC news,
25 May 2025
Noun
-
Marine Group officials wanted to demonstrate that converting similarly sized tugs from diesel to electric can be replicated by other companies, such as excursion boats and dinner cruises.—
Rob Nikolewski,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 June 2025
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That, in turn, scuttled the main objective of the mission — having the Otter rendezvous with the Launcher tug down the road.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
21 May 2025
Adjective
-
Anderson won his first of his record 23 races in 2005 and broke his ankle in the celebrations, but the excruciating pain and eight weeks in a cast didn’t put him off.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
25 May 2025
-
This became even more imposing when, toward the end of Game Four—another one that the Knicks seemed poised to win—the Celtics star Jayson Tatum suffered an excruciating injury to his Achilles tendon and crumpled onto the hardwood, howling in pain.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
22 May 2025
Noun
-
This is only the latest twist in a legal saga that started last October when 23XI and Front Row filed a lawsuit against NASCAR, arguing that they were unfairly shut out of charter ownership despite purchasing charters from Stewart-Haas Racing.—
Greg Engle,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2025
-
What did the major twist at the end of the movie mean?—
Caroline Blair,
People.com,
5 June 2025
Verb
-
Late Tuesday night, social media was awash with dramatic images of the raging blaze, as well as the hilltop museum surrounded by flames ripping through its surrounding trees and vegetation.—
The Editors of ARTnews,
ARTnews.com,
8 Jan. 2025
-
The magazine said Gallagher provides vocals on the chorus, with Ryder taking on the verses, Starkey on drums, guitar, bass and keyboards and Bell ripping an extended guitar solo.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
8 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wrenching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrenching. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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