wrench

[ rench ]

/ rɛntʃ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR wrench ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to twist suddenly and forcibly; pull, jerk, or force by a violent twist: He wrenched the prisoner's wrist.

to overstrain or injure (the ankle, knee, etc.) by a sudden, violent twist: When she fell, she wrenched her ankle.

to affect distressingly as if by a wrench.

to wrest, as from the right use or meaning: to wrench the facts out of context.

verb (used without object)

to twist, turn, or move suddenly aside: He wrenched away.

to give a wrench or twist at something.

noun

a wrenching movement; a sudden, violent twist: With a quick wrench, she freed herself.

a painful, straining twist, as of the ankle or wrist.

a sharp, distressing strain, as to the feelings.

a twisting or distortion, as of meaning.

a tool for gripping and turning or twisting the head of a bolt, a nut, a pipe, or the like, commonly consisting of a bar of metal with fixed or adjustable jaws.

Origin of wrench

before 1050; Middle English wrenchen (v.), Old English wrencan to twist, turn; cognate with German renken

SYNONYMS FOR wrench

4 distort, twist, warp.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR wrench ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM wrench

wrench·er, noun wrench·ing·ly, adverb out·wrench, verb (used with object) un·wrenched, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wrench

ranch wrench

Words nearby wrench

wrecking crane, wrekin, wren, wren, christopher, wren-tit, wrench, wrens, wrest, wrest pin, wrestle, wrestling

Example sentences from the Web for wrenching

Dern, then, is responsible for carrying the emotional weight of some of the most wrenching scenes in the pair of tearjerkers.

Crying With Laura Dern: The Star on Her Oscar-Worthy ‘Wild’ Turn |Kevin Fallon |December 3, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It is deeply moving, so much so that you have to be pretty heartless not to be touched by this wrenching account.

Wendy Davis and the 'Good Abortion' Myth |Emily Shire |September 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The added tragedy of losing a son had been hard enough to bear without the wrenching revelations of recent days.

The Army Lied About the Hero Who Died Looking for Bowe Bergdahl |Michael Daly |June 4, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Through its wrenching, eventually exhausting series of betrayals, Game of Thrones asks, “Is treachery unavoidable?”

Daenerys Goes to Washington: The Modern Politics of ‘Game of Thrones’ |Jedediah Purdy |April 8, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

That had now ended with a flag covered coffin, a reality too wrenching to accept immediately.

The Teen Love Letters that Led to a Tragic Murder-Suicide in Florida |Michael Daly |March 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
There was a wrenching crash of metal, a shrill scream of skidding tires, climaxed by a thunderous roar.

Sabotage in Space |Carey Rockwell
Wrenching warehouses to fragments the tornado passed to the river front, leaving a broad swath of wreckage and dead bodies.

The True Story of Our National Calamity of Flood, Fire and Tornado |Logan Marshall
Wrenching the lower or root part of the tooth loose from its socket in the jaw is what hurts so when a tooth is pulled.

A Handbook of Health |Woods Hutchinson
A slip and a violent, wrenching effort at recovery frightened him.

Smoke Bellew |Jack London
Wrenching himself free from her hands, Drew dropped down on the floor and began to hunt around for the key.

The Sick-a-Bed Lady |Eleanor Hallowell Abbott

British Dictionary definitions for wrenching

wrench

/ (rɛntʃ) /

verb

to give (something) a sudden or violent twist or pull esp so as to remove (something) from that to which it is attached to wrench a door off its hinges

(tr) to twist suddenly so as to sprain (a limb) to wrench one's ankle

(tr) to give pain to

(tr) to twist from the original meaning or purpose

(intr) to make a sudden twisting motion

noun

a forceful twist or pull

an injury to a limb, caused by twisting

sudden pain caused esp by parting

a parting that is difficult or painful to make

a distorting of the original meaning or purpose

a spanner, esp one with adjustable jaws See also torque wrench

Word Origin for wrench

Old English wrencan; related to Old High German renken, Lithuanian rangyti to twist. See wrinkle 1

Idioms and Phrases with wrenching

wrench

see throw a monkey wrench.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

wrench

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

Origin of wrench

SYNONYMS FOR wrench

OTHER WORDS FROM wrench

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wrench

Words nearby wrench

Example sentences from the Web for wrenching

British Dictionary definitions for wrenching

verb

noun

Word Origin for wrench

Idioms and Phrases with wrenching

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

wrench

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

Origin of wrench

SYNONYMS FOR wrench

OTHER WORDS FROM wrench

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wrench

Words nearby wrench

Words related to wrenching

Example sentences from the Web for wrenching

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for wrenching

verb

noun

Word Origin for wrench

Idioms and Phrases with wrenching

British Dictionary definitions for wrenching