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.

wreak

R0111800 (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.

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 nUsage: See at wrought

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.

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

Thesaurus

Verb

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"make for, bring, work, playcreate, 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"

wreak

verb1. 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.

wreak

verb1. To cause to undergo or bear (something unwelcome or damaging, for example):impose, inflict, play, visit.2. Archaic. To exact revenge for or from:avenge, pay back, pay off, redress, repay, requite, vindicate.Informal: fix.Idioms: even the score, get back at, get even with, pay back in kind, settle accounts, take an eye for an eye.

Translations

causerdéterminercausaresfogare

wreak

wreak havoc

To cause a lot of problems. Termites have wreaked havoc on the structural integrity of our house, unfortunately.See also: havoc, wreak

play havoc with (someone or something)

To cause issues or disruptions for someone or something. The road closures have played havoc with rush-hour traffic. This humidity is going to play havoc with my hair.See also: havoc, play

wreak havoc (with something)

to cause a lot of trouble with something; to ruin or damage something. Your bad attitude will wreak havoc with my project. The rainy weather wreaked havoc with our picnic plans.See also: havoc, wreak

wreak something (up)on someone or something

to cause damage, havoc, or destruction to someone or something. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) The storm wreaked destruction upon the little village. It wreaked much havoc on us.See also: on, wreak

wreak vengeance (up)on someone or something

Cliché to seek and get revenge on someone by harming someone or something. The gangster wreaked his vengeance by destroying his rival's house. The general wanted to wreak vengeance on the opposing army for their recent successful attack.See also: on, vengeance, wreak

play havoc

Also, raise or wreak havoc . Disrupt, damage, or destroy something, as in The wind played havoc with her hair, or The fire alarm raised havoc with the children, or The earthquake wrought havoc in the town. The noun havoc was once used as a command for invaders to begin looting and killing, but by the 1800s the term was being used for somewhat less aggressive activities. For a synonym, see play the devil with. See also: havoc, play

play/wreak ˈhavoc with something

cause damage, destruction or disorder to something: The terrible storms wreaked havoc with electricity supplies, because so many power lines were down.See also: havoc, play, something, wreak

wreak havoc

Create confusion and inflict destruction. Havoc, which comes from the medieval word for “plunder,” was once a specific command for invading troops to begin looting and killing in a conquered village. This is what Shakespeare meant by his oft-quoted “Cry ‘havoc’ and let slip the dogs of war” (Julius Caesar, 3.1). Although the word still means devastating damage, to wreak it has been transferred to less warlike activities, as in “That puppy will wreak havoc in the living room.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in the The Birds of Killingworth (1863) stated, “The crow . . . crushing the beetle in his coat of mail, and crying havoc on the slug and snail.”See also: havoc, wreak

wreak

wreak

wreak

wreak

wreak

wreak

wreak

wreak

wreak

wreak havoc

play havoc with (someone or something)

wreak havoc (with something)

wreak something (up)on someone or something

wreak vengeance (up)on someone or something

play havoc

play/wreak ˈhavoc with something

wreak havoc

wreak

Synonyms for wreak

verb create

Synonyms

verb unleash

Synonyms

Synonyms for wreak

verb to cause to undergo or bear (something unwelcome or damaging, for example)

Synonyms

verb to exact revenge for or from

Synonyms

Synonyms for wreak

verb cause to happen or to occur as a consequence

Synonyms

Related Words