Synonyms

wrest

American

[rest] / rɛst /

verb (used with object)

to twist or turn; pull, jerk, or force by a violent twist.

Synonyms:

wring
to take away by force.

to wrest a knife from a child.
to get by effort.

to wrest a living from the soil.

Synonyms:

wring
to twist or turn from the proper course, application, use, meaning, or the like; wrench.

noun

a wresting; twist or wrench.
a key or small wrench for tuning stringed musical instruments, as the harp or piano, by turning the pins to which the strings are fastened.

wrest British

/ rɛst /

verb

to take or force away by violent pulling or twisting
to seize forcibly by violent or unlawful means
to obtain by laborious effort
to distort in meaning, purpose, etc

"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

noun

the act or an instance of wresting
archaic a small key used to tune a piano or harp

"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

Related Words

See extract.

Other Word Forms

unwrested adjective
unwresting adjective
wrester noun

Etymology

Origin of wrest

First recorded before 1000; (verb) Middle English wresten, Old English wrǣstan “to turn, twist,” from unattested Old Norse wreista ( Icelandic reista ); akin to wrist; (noun) Middle English, derivative of the verb and first recorded in 1350-1400

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A steal in the third end hinted that November's European silver medallists could get the win they needed, but the US wrested back control to lead at the break.

From BBC

Far underneath the surface of the earth, rock tore away from rock as a giant slab of the earth’s crust wrested free from its trap.

From Literature

On his ninth try, in 1977, Begin wrested power from the Labor party.

From The Wall Street Journal

Co-star Cynthia Erivo promptly wrested the stunned actress away from Mr Wen, who was seen being escorted out of the event by security officers.

From BBC

After much of the exchanges were dominated by the Eubanks, Benn managed to wrest back attention towards the end of the event.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023