wrought
Americanverb
adjective
-
elaborated; embellished.
-
not rough or crude.
-
produced or shaped by beating with a hammer, as iron or silver articles.
verb
adjective
-
metallurgy shaped by hammering or beating
-
(often in combination) formed, fashioned, or worked as specified
well-wrought
-
decorated or made with delicate care
Usage
Wrought is sometimes used as if it were the past tense and past participle of wreak as in the hurricane wrought havoc in coastal areas. Many people think this use is incorrect
Synonym Usage
See worked.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of wrought
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English wroght, metathetic variant of worht, past participle of worchen “to work”; see origin at work
Explanation
Wrought is an adjective that means "molded, shaped, or manufactured." A wrought-iron fence has been shaped to fit a particular ornamental style. Wrought is most often used as an adjective to describe the shaping, altering, molding, and manufacturing of various metals. As a verb, wrought is the archaic past tense of the word work but is often confused as a past tense for the word wreak, which means "to cause damage." The confusion arises from the fact that the phrase "wrought havoc" is an acceptable variant of the phrase "wreaked havoc," but even here, wrought is etymologically rooted in the word work not wreak.
Vocabulary lists containing wrought
100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know
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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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"Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan
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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.
Experts worried the trauma wrought by the move would disrupt their spawning process, but they had babies that spring.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
Delivering a commencement address at the University of Arizona, Schmidt told students the “technological transformation” wrought by artificial intelligence will be “larger, faster and more consequential than what came before.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
If any image summed up the transformation wrought by PSG's head coach, this was it.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
She’s been on something of a tear on X recently, railing against the alleged societal destruction that women’s equality has wrought.
From Salon • Apr. 13, 2026
The entry doors are made of wrought iron and glass, and just past them, marble columns and impressive oil paintings of bearded white men line the hallways.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
