wreak

[reek]

verb (used with object)

to inflict or execute (punishment, vengeance, etc.): They wreaked havoc on the enemy.

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.

Origin of wreak

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

Related formswreak·er, noun

Can be confusedrack wrack wreak wreckracked wracked wreaked wrecked

Synonyms for wreak

1. visit, vent, unleash.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for wreaking

wreck, inflict, unleash, vent, execute, create, work, visit, effect, exercise

Examples from the Web for wreaking

Contemporary Examples of wreaking

Earlier that day, officials say, Stone went on a bloody rampage killing six of his kin and wreaking havoc in three small towns.
Hunt for Iraq Vet After Killing Spree
M.L. Nestel
December 16, 2014
Brazilians may be famous for their beach bodies, but new wealth is wreaking havoc on their waistlines.
Meet the Chef Fighting to Ensure That Brazilians Will Never Be as Fat as Americans
Brandon Presser
June 25, 2014
Most of those drawn to both groups feel passionately that large forces beyond their control are wreaking havoc on their lives.
Government Shutdown Melodrama Won’t Matter on Election Day 2016
Stuart Stevens
September 23, 2013
Wreaking havock by waging ideological warfare is neither the way to win elections nor something our party should desire.
Much Ado about the Debt Ceiling
Justin Green
November 30, 2012
But in fact the gun laws as currently enforced are stunningly lax and are wreaking havoc in Mexico.
The Truth Inside the Conspiracy Theory
David Frum
June 27, 2012

Historical Examples of wreaking

What satisfaction was there in wreaking revenge on a dead man?
Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1909 to 1922
Lucy Maud Montgomery
In some way she might yet be made to pay for what she had done in wreaking her vengeance on Pignaver.
Stradella
F(rancis) Marion Crawford
Perhaps too often wreaking their vengeance on victims that might be innocent.
The Lone Ranche
Captain Mayne Reid
It might keep Dave from wreaking his vengeance on the whole ship.
Bert Wilson, Marathon Winner
J. W. Duffield
It must have been for the purpose of wreaking some injury on Merriwell as he slept.
Frank Merriwell's New Comedian
Burt L. Standish

British Dictionary definitions for wreaking

wreak

verb (tr)

to inflict (vengeance, etc) or to cause (chaos, etc)to wreak havoc on the enemy

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

archaic to take vengeance for

Derived Formswreaker, noun

Word Origin for wreak

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

xref

See wrought

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for wreaking

wreak

Old English wrecan "avenge," originally "to drive, drive out, punish" (class V strong verb; past tense wræc, past participle wrecen), from Proto-Germanic *wrekanan (cf. Old Saxon wrekan, Old Norse reka, Old Frisian wreka, Middle Dutch wreken "to drive, push, compel, pursue, throw," Old High German rehhan, German rächen "to avenge," Gothic wrikan "to persecute"), from PIE root *werg- "to work, to do" (cf. Lithuanian vergas "distress," vergas "slave;" Old Church Slavonic vragu "enemy;" Latin urgere; see urge (v.)). Meaning "inflict or take vengeance," with on, is recorded from late 15c.; that of "inflict or cause (damage or destruction)" is attested from 1817.