as in destroying
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
it's amazing how a raging sea can wrack a seemingly sturdy beachfront home
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Recent Examples of wracking
Still, the advance notice could help a tenant avoid wracking up a legal history, which can make finding another apartment difficult.
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Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 4 Jan. 2026
Local officials began wracking their brains for future uses for the sprawling, 53-acre site, which includes older buildings, and some that hold historic designations.
—Sacbee.com, 30 Dec. 2025
After weeks of captivating blind auditions, nerve-wracking eliminations and the high-stakes playoffs round, each coach selected one artist from their team to advance to the finale.
—Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 9 Dec. 2025
While these weeks of celebration can sometimes lead to wracking up too many expenses, luckily, finding the perfect gift doesn’t have to mean spending a fortune.
—Melissa Locker, Time, 17 Nov. 2025
Manville and Strong crackle together — their chemistry is steamy and genuine and, in some of the production’s best moments, after all terrible secrets have been revealed, so is their body-wracking devastation.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2025
Over nerve-wracking cellphone calls, video chats and in-person conversations, the various players desperately try to figure out who fired and how, and some even question if there’s a missile at all.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 23 Oct. 2025
This lack of training, the lack of confidence to ask the right questions and the unwillingness to see past a diagnosis, turned an already nerve-wracking situation into a horrifying ordeal for my family.
—Maura Sullivan, Boston Herald, 14 Oct. 2025
Reuters — American golfer Vince Whaley had a particularly nerve-wracking encounter with a big-toothed onlooker at the Sanderson Farms Championship on Sunday, as he was forced to play a shot under the watchful gaze of a lurking alligator.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wracking
Verb
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By the 1960s, gas flares and untreated waste spillage were destroying their forests.—
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And there is a risk of the parasites becoming dormant for years before reactivating and destroying a new cornea.—
Verb
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And, from this week’s issue, Nicola Twilley’s reporting on another lingering effect of the wildfires—smoke taint that is ruining grapes and threatening California’s wine industry.—
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The video then shows the man asking if the situation was ruining Kaleel's Christmas.—
Verb
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Yet for all of Malinin’s athleticism and his Beamonesque ability to take flight what has been most telling in what has already been a world record-shattering Olympic season has been the maturity of his skating, the willingness to take emotional risks in his programs.—
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Bana and Rocha were among the 615 participants in the 27th annual Waukegan Polar Bear Plunge on Thursday at the Waukegan Municipal Beach, shattering the record of 540 set in 2024, and collectively raising more than $20,000 for Special Recreation Services of Northern Lake County.—
Verb
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The one that is responsible, once and for all, for fixing a defense that’s been complicit in wrecking three straight seasons of Burrow, Chase and Higgins.—
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And can interest be reduced without wrecking your financial future?—
Verb
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Scenario two is that Harbaugh is leveraging the Giants’ rabid interest but ultimately could take a different job, devastating this desperate fan base.—
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Rubella, also called German measles, is mild in children but devastating to fetuses, causing deafness, heart defects and intellectual disabilities when pregnant women are infected.—
Verb
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The move came after the Office of County Administration released December cost estimates for demolishing the building and renovating it.—
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Fully reopening Leetsdale Drive is contingent on demolishing parts of the charred apartment complex that are still standing, Murphy said.—
Verb
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As Hodges stood there, scared and vulnerable, the man grabbed his baton and bashed him on the head with it, rupturing his lip and smashing his skull.—
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The man accused of smashing windows on Vice President JD Vance's home with a hammer is facing separate prosecutions in state and federal court.—
Verb
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DiMarco’s participation became a highlight of the event, with the student asking thoughtful questions about overcoming imposter syndrome and handling rejection.—
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And that religion, like music, can carry the sound of struggle – but also the hope of one day overcoming the injustices and inequalities of everyday life.—
Cite this Entry
“Wracking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wracking. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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