wrack

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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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of wrack No matter where your child prefers to do their scrolling, there are many ways to either intentionally or unintentionally wrack up a huge credit card bill. Jaime Catmull, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025 Orsolya is apparently wracked with feelings of complicity, though the film, which is made up mainly of extended shots of her conversations with other people, questions the sincerity of her self-reproach against a backdrop of ethnic tension and neoliberal sprawl in Romania. Beatrice Loayza, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025 As sub-freezing temps wrack the concrete jungle, some of the hottest looks seen at the Paris and Milan shows are expected to re-emerge for the city's first major fashion event of 2025. Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 4 Feb. 2025 Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is wracking up lawsuits, and the latest is from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Jibin Joseph, PCMAG, 12 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for wrack
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrack
Verb
  • Justin Champagnie hit a 3-pointer, the Heat had a backcourt violation and then Carrington ruined Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s 40-point game by dropping this dagger on him.
    Zach Harper, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
  • However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.
    Tanasia Kenney, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • More than half a dozen tornadoes have been confirmed, including one in Marshall County, Oklahoma, that left two homes completely destroyed and damaged about 20 others.
    Christopher Cann, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2025
  • Fans of the franchise will remember that the Battle of Exegol was the climactic showdown between the Resistance and the First Order, which ended with the Sith being destroyed once and for all.
    Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 20 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Three days prior, Dale Earnhardt, the sport’s superhero and antihero and transcendent phenom all in one, wrecked into the wall on Turn 4 on the last lap of the Daytona 500.
    Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 13 Apr. 2025
  • The architectural vandalism was hideous and heartbreaking to watch, inhumane civic renewal by wrecking ball in the discredited vein of Robert Moses.
    Frank Rich, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • At first, Tyrion's owner was devastated with her dog's diagnosis.
    Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025
  • The loss has brought yet another heartbreak for the Townsend family, stemming from the mass shooting that devastated this suburban Denver community 26 years ago.
    Nicquel Terry Ellis, CNN Money, 20 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Trump and Musk are truly onions made of glass: shiny orbs of one insubstantial layer over another, with nothing in the center, liable to be shattered under the slightest pressure.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
  • And amid the challenges, there’s a growing push for transparency in the beauty industry, especially as entrepreneurs are speaking out more about the realities of running a business, shattering the illusion of effortless success.
    Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 12 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Purdy put his reporter’s hat back on and dug up that the 38 S. Fifth St. house — which would have sat in the plaza just south of the city council chambers — was demolished after an arson fire damaged it beyond repair.
    Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2025
  • In Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, residents said the Israeli military demolished more homes in the city, which has all come under Israeli control in the past days in what Israeli leaders said was an expansion of security zones in Gaza to put more pressure on Hamas to release remaining hostages.
    Nidal al-Mughrabi, USA Today, 16 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Kamikaze sank their first ship on Oct. 25, 1944, when a navy Zero pilot smashed into the USS St. Lo in the Philippine Sea while carrying a pair of 550-pound bombs.
    CBS News, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2025
  • Raphinha gets the ball in space and smashes home from the edge of the box.
    Michael Cox, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Wrack.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrack. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.

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