Definitions for wreak
rikwreak

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. bring, work, play, wreak, make forverb

   cause to happen or to occur as a consequence

   "I cannot work a miracle"; "wreak havoc"; "bring comments"; "play a joke"; "The rain brought relief to the drought-stricken area"

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Wreaknoun

   Etymology: from the verb.

   1. Revenge; vengeance.

   Fortune, mine avowed foe,
   Her wrathful wreaks themselves do now allay. Fa. Queen.

   Join with the Goths, and with revengeful war
   Take wreak on Rome for this ingratitude,
   And vengeance on the traitor Saturnine. William Shakespeare, Tit. Andr.

   2. Passion; furious fit.

   What and if
   His sorrows have so overwhelm’d his wits,
   Shall we be thus afflicted in his wreaks,
   His fits, his frenzy, and his bitterness? William Shakespeare, Tit. Andr.

2. To Wreakverb

   Old preterite and part. pass. of wroke.

   Etymology: wræcan , Saxon; wrecken, Dutch; recken, German.

   1. To revenge.

   In an ill hour thy foes thee hither sent,
   Another’s wrongs to wreak upon thy self. Fairy Queen.

   Him all that while occasion did provoke
   Against Pyrocles, and new matter fram’d
   Upon the old, him stirring to be wroke
   Of his late wrongs. Fairy Queen.

   Pale death our valiant leader hath opprest,
   Come wreak his loss, whom bootless ye complain. Edward Fairfax.

   2. To execute any violent design. This is the sense in which it is now used.

   On me let death wreak all his rage. John Milton.

   He left the dame,
   Resolv’d to spare her life, and save her shame,
   But that detested object to remove,
   To wreck his vengeance, and to cure her love. Dryden.

   Think how you drove him hence, a wand’ring exile,
   To distant climes, then think what certain vengeance
   His rage may wreak on your unhappy orphan. Smith.

   Her husband scour’d away,
   To wreak his hunger on the destin’d prey. Alexander Pope.

   3. It is corruptly written for reck,to heed; to care.

   My master is of churlish disposition,
   And little wreaks to find the way to heav’n
   By doing deeds of hospitality. William Shakespeare, As you like it.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. wreak

   To wreak means to cause or inflict a large amount of damage, harm, or severe consequences. It can also refer to carrying out or executing something such as revenge or vengeance.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Wreakverb

   to reck; to care

2. Wreakverb

   to revenge; to avenge

3. Wreakverb

   to execute in vengeance or passion; to inflict; to hurl or drive; as, to wreak vengeance on an enemy

4. Wreakverb

   revenge; vengeance; furious passion; resentment

5. Etymology: [OE. wreken to revenge, punish, drive out, AS. wrecan; akin to OFries. wreka, OS. wrekan to punish, D. wreken to avenge, G. rchen, OHG. rehhan, Icel. reka to drive, to take vengeance, Goth. wrikan to persecute, Lith. vargas distress, vargti to suffer distress, L. urgere to drive, urge, Gr. e'i`rgein to shut, Skr. vj to turn away. Cf. Urge, Wreck, Wretch.]

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. Wreak

   rēk, v.t. to inflict: avenge.—n. Wreak′er.—adjs. Wreak′ful, revengeful: angry; Wreak′less, unpunished. [A.S. wrecan, orig. to drive, and so to punish, avenge; Ice. reka, to drive, pursue, Ger. rächen; conn. with L. urgēre.]

2. Wreak

   rēk, v.i. (Shak.). Same as Reck.

Matched Categories

1. • Create

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Anagrams for wreak »

1. waker

How to pronounce wreak?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say wreak in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of wreak in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of wreak in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of wreak in a Sentence

1. Hillary Clinton:

   We must end their murderous reign and prevent them from not only continuing to wreak havoc, terror and violence in the area where they are operating, but export it.

2. Judge Statom:

   At some point and time he will have to answer for any crimes that he commits, but he doesn’t get to wreak havoc on our community.

3. Ralph Waldo Emerson,:

   There is a mortifying experience in particular, which does not fail to wreak itself also in the general history; I mean the foolish face of praise, the forced smile which we put on in company where we do not feel at ease in answer to conversation which does not interest us.

4. Clay Trauernicht:

   On tropical islands, fires have a unique set of impacts, first and foremost, fires were very rare prior to human arrival on any Pacific island. The vegetation, the native ecosystems, really evolved in the absence of frequent fires. And so when you do get these fires, they tend to kind of wreak havoc.

5. Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson:

   The tragic death of this innocent baby is an example of the devastation gun violence can wreak on our communities, these defendants showed utter disregard for human life, and we will be asking that each of them receives the maximum sentence.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=wreak
2. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=wreak
3. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
4. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wreak
5. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=wreak
6. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=wreak