wreak


Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms.

wreak

to inflict or execute punishment: wreak revenge; visit; vent; unleash: He wreaked his anger on the office staff.
Not to be confused with:
wreck – destroy; devastate; shatter; tear down: The mob will wreck the goal posts.; the remains of something ruined: The tornado turned the house into a wreck.
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

wreak

 (rēk)
tr.v. wreaked, wreak·ing, wreaks
1. To bring about (damage or destruction, for example): wreak havoc.
2. To inflict (vengeance or punishment) upon a person.
3. To give vent to or act upon (one's feelings): "He sought for some excuse to wreak his hatred upon Tarzan" (Edgar Rice Burroughs).
4. Archaic To take vengeance for; avenge.

[Middle English wreken, from Old English wrecan.]
Usage Note: Wreak is sometimes confused with wreck, perhaps because the wreaking of damage may leave a wreck: The storm wreaked (not wrecked ) havoc along the coast. The past tense and past participle of wreak is wreaked, not wrought, which is an alternative past tense and past participle of work.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

wreak

(riːk)
vb (tr)
1. to inflict (vengeance, etc) or to cause (chaos, etc): to wreak havoc on the enemy.
2. to express, or gratify (anger, hatred, etc)
3. archaic to take vengeance for
[Old English wrecan; related to Old Frisian wreka, Old High German rehhan (German rächen), Old Norse reka, Latin urgēre to push]
ˈwreaker n
Usage: See at wrought
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

wreak

(rik)

v.t
1. to inflict or execute (punishment, vengeance, etc.): to wreak havoc on the enemy.
2. to carry out the promptings of (one's rage, ill humor, etc.), as on a victim or object: to wreak one's anger on subordinates.
[before 900; Middle English wreken, Old English wrecan to avenge, c. Old Saxon wrekan, Old High German rehhan, Old Norse reka to drive, avenge, Gothic wrikan to persecute]
wreak′er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

wreak


Past participle: wreaked
Gerund: wreaking

Imperative
wreak
wreak
Present
I wreak
you wreak
he/she/it wreaks
we wreak
you wreak
they wreak
Preterite
I wreaked
you wreaked
he/she/it wreaked
we wreaked
you wreaked
they wreaked
Present Continuous
I am wreaking
you are wreaking
he/she/it is wreaking
we are wreaking
you are wreaking
they are wreaking
Present Perfect
I have wreaked
you have wreaked
he/she/it has wreaked
we have wreaked
you have wreaked
they have wreaked
Past Continuous
I was wreaking
you were wreaking
he/she/it was wreaking
we were wreaking
you were wreaking
they were wreaking
Past Perfect
I had wreaked
you had wreaked
he/she/it had wreaked
we had wreaked
you had wreaked
they had wreaked
Future
I will wreak
you will wreak
he/she/it will wreak
we will wreak
you will wreak
they will wreak
Future Perfect
I will have wreaked
you will have wreaked
he/she/it will have wreaked
we will have wreaked
you will have wreaked
they will have wreaked
Future Continuous
I will be wreaking
you will be wreaking
he/she/it will be wreaking
we will be wreaking
you will be wreaking
they will be wreaking
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been wreaking
you have been wreaking
he/she/it has been wreaking
we have been wreaking
you have been wreaking
they have been wreaking
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been wreaking
you will have been wreaking
he/she/it will have been wreaking
we will have been wreaking
you will have been wreaking
they will have been wreaking
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been wreaking
you had been wreaking
he/she/it had been wreaking
we had been wreaking
you had been wreaking
they had been wreaking
Conditional
I would wreak
you would wreak
he/she/it would wreak
we would wreak
you would wreak
they would wreak
Past Conditional
I would have wreaked
you would have wreaked
he/she/it would have wreaked
we would have wreaked
you would have wreaked
they would have wreaked
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.wreak - 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"
create, make - make or cause to be or to become; "make a mess in one's office"; "create a furor"
work, act - have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected; "The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought"; "How does your idea work in practice?"; "This method doesn't work"; "The breaks of my new car act quickly"; "The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

wreak

verb
1. create, work, cause, visit, effect, exercise, carry out, execute, inflict, bring about Violent storms wreaked havoc on the coast.
2. unleash, express, indulge, vent, gratify, give vent to, give free rein to He wreaked vengeance on the men who had betrayed him.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

wreak

verb
1. To cause to undergo or bear (something unwelcome or damaging, for example):
2. Archaic. To exact revenge for or from:
Informal: fix.
Idioms: even the score, get back at, get even with, pay back in kind, settle accounts, take an eye for an eye.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
kurittaa

wreak

[riːk] VT [+ destruction, vengeance] → hacer, causar
to wreak havoccausar estragos
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

wreak

[ˈriːk] vt [+ destruction] → semer
to wreak havoc → faire des ravages
to wreak havoc on sth → chambouler qch
to wreak vengeance on sb → se venger de qn, exercer sa vengeance sur qn
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

wreak

vt destructionanrichten; chaos alsostiften; (liter) vengeanceüben (→ on an +dat); punishmentauferlegen (→ on +dat); angerauslassen (→ on an +dat) ? havoc
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

wreak

[riːk] vt (destruction, havoc) → portare, causare
to wreak vengeance on → vendicarsi su
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
Tarzan knew the Russian, in whose power they were, so well that he could not doubt but that the man, filled with rage that Jane had once escaped him, and knowing that Tarzan might be close upon his trail, would wreak without further loss of time whatever vengeance his polluted mind might be able to conceive.
Ay, I will teach him to wreak my vengeance on the earth!
It was in a state of mind superinduced by these conditions that La led forth her jabbering company to retrieve the sacred emblem of her high office and wreak vengeance upon the author of her wrongs.
But they did not know that Norman of Torn was but playing with his victim, that he might make the torture long drawn out, and wreak as terrible a punishment upon Peter of Colfax, before he killed him, as the Baron had visited upon Bertrade de Montfort because she would not yield to his base desires.
Here was some thing, not wood nor iron, upon which to wreak his hate.
Outraged labor continued to wreak vengeance on the traitors.
There was even an ease and cheerfulness about her air and manner that I made no pretension to; but there was a depth of malice in her too expressive eye that plainly told me I was not forgiven; for, though she no longer hoped to win me to herself, she still hated her rival, and evidently delighted to wreak her spite on me.
That girl's hard and haughty and capricious to the last degree, and has been brought up by Miss Havisham to wreak revenge on all the male sex."
In our instinctive rebellion against pain, we are children again, and demand an active will to wreak our vengeance on.
At heart they hate their horrid fates, and so wreak their poor spite on me who stand for everything they have not, and for all they most crave and never can attain.
She wanted to see him wreak vengeance on this beast that had persecuted him so.