释义 |
wrest I. \ˈrest\ verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: Middle English wresten, wrasten, from Old English wrǣstan to turn, twist, wrest; akin to Old Norse reista to wrest, wring, bend, Old English wrīthan to twist — more at writhe transitive verb 1. a. : to pull, force, or move by violent wringing or twisting movements < the rumble of freight being wrested ashore — Archie Binns > b. obsolete : to insert by forcible twisting or wrenching 2. : to gain with difficulty by or as if by coercive force, violent action, or steady determined labor < they wrest a narrow survival from their extreme environment — A.L.Kroeber > < a tragedy that wrests poetry from what is sordid and properly colloquial — John Gassner > < wrest control of the government from the military — W.J.Coughlin > 3. a. : to divert to an unintended, unnatural, or especially improper use < wrong of her to take life in her hands and try to wrest it to her own purpose — Agnes S. Turnbull > < the evidence … was violently wrested to fit the narrowness of the theory — F.A.Pottle > b. (1) : to misinterpret or misapply (a law) intentionally < wrest the laws so as to make officers appear guilty of offenses — Salvation Army Orders > (2) obsolete : to divert or prevent (as a legal proceeding) from a just action or decision < thou shalt not wrest judgment — Deut 16:19 (Authorized Version) > c. : to deflect or change from a true or normal bearing, significance, or interpretation : distort < every day they wrest my words — Ps 56:5 (Authorized Version) > intransitive verb obsolete : to force one's way with violent effort Synonyms: see wrench II. noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English wrest, wrast, from wresten, wrasten to wrest 1. : the action of wresting : wrench, twist 2. : a key or wrench formerly used for turning wrest pins in a harp, piano, or other stringed musical instrument III. noun (-s) Etymology: alteration (influenced by wrest) (II) of obsolete English dialect rest, reest, from Middle English rest, fr, Old English rēost : the curved surface of a plow moldboard |