English Explanatory Dictionary

wreak

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To cause harm; to afflict; to inflict; to harm or injure; to let out harm.
  2. To chasten, or chastise/chastize, or castigate, or punish, or smite.
  3. To inflict or take vengeance on.
  4. To take vengeance for.
  5. Misspelling of reek.
noun
  1. Revenge; vengeance; furious passion; resentment.
  2. Punishment; retribution; payback.

Pronunciation

rēk /ɹiːk/ /ɹik/ en-us-wreak.ogg

Word forms

wreak wreaks wreaking wreaked wrought wroke wroken

Etymology

From Middle English wreken, from Old English wrecan, from Proto-West Germanic *wrekan, from Proto-Germanic *wrekaną, from Proto-Indo-European *wreg- (“push, shove, drive, track down”). Cognate via Proto-Germanic with Dutch wreken, German rächen, Swedish vräka; cognate via PIE with Latin urgēre (English urge), and distantly cognate with English wreck.

Derived words

wreak havoc
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