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: to cause the infliction of (vengeance or punishment)

: to cause the infliction of (vengeance or punishment)

2 a : to cause the infliction of (vengeance or punishment)

Wreak is a venerable word that first appeared in Old English as wrecan, meaning "to drive, drive out, punish, or avenge." "Wrecan" is related to a number of similar words in the Germanic languages, including Middle Dutch "wreken" ("to punish, avenge"), Old High German rehhan ("to avenge"), Old Norse "reka" ("to drive, push, or avenge"), and Gothic "wrikan" ("to persecute"). It may also be related to Latin urgēre ("to drive on, urge"), the source of the English verb "urge." In modern English, vengeance is a common object of the verb "wreak," reflecting one of its earlier uses in the sense "to take vengeance for" - as when Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus proclaims "We will solicit heaven, and move the gods / To send down Justice for to wreak our wrongs."

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wreak.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback .

Over 600 fires in California continue to wreak havoc, believed to have been caused by lightning strikes and perpetuated by uncooperative weather patterns, according to USA Today.

With nearly 180,000 Americans dead at the time of this writing, the novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc, and the administration has yet to come up with a credible plan to combat it.

Ehlinger is fully aware of the havoc one positive test could wreak on the Longhorns, who have had three players opt out of the 2020 season due to concerns over COVID-19.

Experts worry that dry thunderstorms forecast to begin Sunday could wreak more havoc, further stretching the resources needed to fight what are now the second- and third-largest fires in modern state history.

As Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc across the globe, its presence is threatening to derail the management strategies that have proven to be so effective for treating malaria.

In this case, the effects of corporate greed and malfeasance could wreak havoc on a global scale.

Winds could also wreak considerable havoc on roofs and buildings across the city, with gusts of up to 90 miles per hour possible Tuesday through early Wednesday.

That, essentially, is the current response being put forward by the United States government and many state governments, as COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, continues to wreak devastation around the country.

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2b

History and Etymology for wreak

Middle English wreken "to drive out, avenge, vent, express (anger, etc.)," going back to Old English wrecan "to press forward, drive out, banish, avenge, punish," going back to Germanic *wrekan- "to drive out, pursue" (whence Old Saxon wrekan "to avenge," Old High German rehhan, Old Norse reka "to drive, thrust, take vengeance," Gothic wrikan "to persecute"), of uncertain origin

Note: Placed by some under Indo-European *u̯reg- "follow a track" (whence, allegedly, Sanskrit vrajant- "wandering," Latin urgēre "to press, weigh down"), though the semantic relations between compared forms are not close.