wreak

[reek]

verb (used with object)

1. to inflict or execute (punishment, vengeance, etc.).

   They wreaked havoc on the enemy.

   Synonyms: unleash, vent, visit, inflict, impose

2. to carry out the promptings of (one's rage, ill humor, will, desire, etc.), as on a victim or object.

   He wreaked his anger on the office staff.

wreak

/ riːk /

verb

1. to inflict (vengeance, etc) or to cause (chaos, etc)

   to wreak havoc on the enemy

2. to express, or gratify (anger, hatred, etc)

3. archaic,  to take vengeance for

Other Word Forms

• wreaker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wreak¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English wreken, Old English wrecan; cognate with German rächen “to avenge,” Old Norse reka “to drive, avenge,” Gothic wrikan “to persecute”; akin to Latin urgēre “to drive, push”

Word History and Origins

Origin of wreak¹

Old English wrecan; related to Old Frisian wreka, Old High German rehhan (German rächen ), Old Norse reka, Latin urgēre to push

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. wreak havoc. wreak havoc.

Example Sentences

Federal troops are wreaking havoc in the streets, people are being abducted and sent to prison camps — or disappeared entirely — and the military is executing orders to murder foreign civilians on the high seas.

Read more on Salon

Those started with the stomach virus he suffered at the beginning of the season, which wreaked havoc on his swing as much as his body.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“It would wreak havoc on the financial markets as global markets and investors begin to wonder if we can govern ourselves,” he said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The charges concern accusations that Kabila has been supporting the M23, a rebel group who have wreaked devastation across the country's eastern region.

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He will also talk about rebuilding, in a nod to Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee's postwar government's programme of new towns, which fixed the devastation wreaked by bombs as well as poverty.

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Related Words

• bring about 
• inflict 
• unleash 
• wreck 

When To Use

What’s the difference between wreak and reek?

Wreak means to inflict or carry out something, especially something harmful—it’s most commonly used in the phrase wreak havoc, meaning to cause chaos or destruction or both. Reek most commonly means to give off a strong, unpleasant odor, as in Your socks reek, dude.While wreak is only ever used as a verb, reek can also be used as a noun meaning a strong, unpleasant smell, though this use is much less common.Wreak is always used with an object, usually some negative effect, as in The storm is expected to wreak destruction throughout the region.Reek usually functions without an object, though in some cases it is followed by the word of and the particular smell, as in It reeks of onions in here. This is also the case when reek is used in a more figurative way meaning to be penetrated or saturated with something negative, as in This case reeks of corruption.Wreak and reek are pronounced exactly the same, so it can be hard to remember which one is which, but you can remember that wreak begins with a w because it is often used in the context of things getting wrecked.Here’s an example of wreak and reek used correctly in the same sentence.Example: I like cooking with leeks, but my wife thinks they reek and says they wreak havoc on her ability to smell anything else.Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between reeking and wreaking.