racking 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of rackingnext
as in wrenching
intensely or unbearably painful a racking cough kept him awake all night

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

racking

2 of 2

verb

present participle of rack
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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for racking
  1. pulling
  2. afflicting
  3. agonizing
  4. torturous
  5. intense
  6. attacking
Verb
  • If the first matchup in 2017 felt like a battle of two unknowns and the second in 2019 felt like Georgia making The Leap while Notre Dame was trying to keep up but not quite pulling it off, what does the third game feel like to you?
    Seth Emerson, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
  • But Schwartz has a way of pulling people in.
    Leila Jordan, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2024
Definition of pulling
Verb
  • The swift growth has been accompanied by stressors afflicting the city’s infrastructure, including its housing supply.
    Jeffrey Steele, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
  • Maylia and Jack are both kids, two of the untold number of minors caught up in one side or the other of the burgeoning fentanyl trade afflicting the US.
    Longreads, Longreads, 4 Oct. 2024
Definition of afflicting
Adjective
  • This was spelled out by the 13th and 14th Five-Year Plans, which also conceded that such reform would be agonizing.
    Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
  • For too many of us, the death penalty has only prolonged an already agonizing experience with a lengthy process that leaves us with more pain, despair, and isolation.
    Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
Definition of agonizing
Adjective
  • Another year, another torturous Saturday Night Live episode for Colin Jost.
    EW.com, EW.com, 22 Dec. 2024
  • Previously, when companies came to the government to request data access, there was a torturous process of approvals.
    IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 10 Dec. 2024
Definition of torturous
Adjective
  • Media coverage of Walker’s messy private life has been intense.
    Oliver Kay, The Athletic, 20 Dec. 2024
  • Debate is now intense both within the government and in the public sphere about whether the country should escalate work on its controversial nuclear program.
    Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2024
Definition of intense
Verb
  • But the defenses have steadily become more capable, and in November brought down some 95% of the attacking drones with gunfire, missiles, and, increasingly, electronic warfare jamming.
    David Hambling, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
  • He is shown attacking Linda Kozlowski’s character before meeting a gruesome end at Hogan’s hands.
    Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 23 Dec. 2024
Definition of attacking
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near racking

rackety

racking

racking up

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Racking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racking. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on racking

Nglish: Translation of racking for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of racking for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

Using Bullet Points ( • )

'Gray' vs. 'Grey': What is the difference?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

9 Superb Owl Words

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
tiny woman sitting on a pile of books reading
Little Words, Big Vocabulary Quiz Time to sweat the small stuff.