wrenching 1 of 3

wrenching

2 of 3

noun

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

wrenching

3 of 3

verb

present participle of wrench

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 wrenching
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
  • Social media is filled with quips and notes about the agonizing ways in which the show nails the corporate experience.
    Leah Asmelash, CNN, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Coming to grips with what happened has been agonizing.
    Christine Pelisek, People.com, 17 Mar. 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
  • Their relocation will mark the end of a long, and often torturous, journey for the club that began almost 25 years ago.
    Tom Burrows, The Athletic, 23 Mar. 2025
  • Now, five years after the declaration of a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and three years past seeing how torturous a death the virus can bring, Shaver says the experience gave her a new perspective on life.
    Tammy Ljungblad, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Even so, Wilmore and Williams will face extensive rehabilitation over the next several weeks and months as their bodies re-adapt to the unfamiliar tug of gravity. Hague and Gorbunov, who spent spent 171 days in space, will re-adapt more quickly, perhaps, but both will require physical therapy.
    William Harwood, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2025
  • The gravitational tug of neighboring galaxies compresses gas within a galaxy, triggering star formation.
    Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • What could possibly motivate anyone to choose again and again to endure such excruciating pain?
    Tim Genske, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025
  • But the end games were excruciating losses, usually in the national semifinals, once in the final, and once — just once — in the Sweet 16.
    Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 11 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Watch Servant on Apple TV+ Mythic Quest Mythic Quest is a workplace comedy with a massive twist.
    Keith Langston, People.com, 23 Mar. 2025
  • Update: Republished on March 23 with a warning into a new text attack and a twist on this surging Chinese threat, with additional advice on how to stay safe.
    Zak Doffman, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Wrenching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrenching. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.

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