WRESTS Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

wrests

verb

present tense third-person singular of wrest

as in pulls

to draw out by force or with effort the boy wrested the book out of his sister's hands

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in extorts

to get (as money) by the use of force or threats vowed that the bully had wrested his lunch money from him for the last time

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in earns

to get with great difficulty farmers who were used to wresting a living from the harsh land

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in tugs

to move by or as if by a forceful rotation I need a strong arm to wrest the lid off this pickle jar

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in grabs

to separate or remove by forceful pulling wrested open the stuck door of the cabinet

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

reattaches

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of wrests If New England somehow wrests the divison away from Buffalo, Vrabel gets serious consideration. — Darren Cooper, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026 Like everything else that works here, Brie’s performance wrests the last scraps of freshness from a mode of filmmaking this movie knows is played out, but doesn’t have the particular strength to reinvent. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 2 June 2026 Here, the director wrests a radioactive joy from observing Godard generate ideas with his ensemble, even as others pull their hair out around him. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 4 Nov. 2025 Seattle fans can already envision a future where a one-loss Seahawks team wrests control of the division away from Los Angeles in early November, but Tampa Bay has to be the first domino to fall. — J.j. Bailey, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrests

Verb

The move pulls back on the city’s previous decision to eliminate parking minimums in 2022 to help encourage development.

— Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2026
The funding will help CAEPlus develop BoundaryCool, a system that pulls heat away from graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), and tensor processing units (TPUs) using active liquid cooling.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of pulls

Verb

As engine speed rises, centrifugal force squeezes the drive clutch closed and pushes the belt farther outward.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Aug. 2026
Whereas the Scranton method mainly involves molding ultrahot steel in giant forging presses, Repkon added a step in which a fast-spinning machine squeezes and rolls out the metal like clay on a potter’s wheel.

— Jesse Coburn, ProPublica, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of squeezes

Verb

Capcom’s August preview says earlier, tighter missions eventually feed into larger explorable locations as Musashi earns additional Oni abilities.

— Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
Furthermore, the Girls’ 18s singles champion earns a main-draw wild card into the US Open, providing a direct pathway to one of tennis’s biggest stages this fall in New York.

— Point Loma-Ob Monthly, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of earns

Verb

The film cannily tugs on the heartstrings, pulls off classic slapstick comedy and sneaks obscure film references into its visuals.

— David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026
Just across the state line, Alabama’s DeSoto State Park and Little River Canyon are also wonderful for stunning views, hikes and whatever else tugs your trotline.

— Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 May 2026

Definition of tugs

Verb

There are swooping close encounters with heavenly bodies, Lego blocks in antigravity mode and swarms of Separators, a sort of astro-anthropomorphic version of the tool that pries apart Lego bricks in real life.

— Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026
The show’s biggest laugh may come when Testa pries open Costanzo’s mouth and pronounces just how many performances of Norma Galas has left.

— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025

Definition of pries

Verb

Unfortunately, the underwhelming revelations don’t elicit the tears Kore-eda regularly wrings.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2026
The perennial funnyman suffered an immense tragedy earlier this year with the loss of his daughter, Katherine, yet still wrings laughs out of flamboyant director Oliver Putnam on Only Murders in the Building five seasons in.

— Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 25 June 2026

Definition of wrings

Verb

His torso and thighs grow eye-poppingly muscular beneath their skimpy fur-and-leather togs—a development that does not go unnoticed by a warrior named Red Hair, who plucks the young hunk from his post and tosses him into the prime time of the gladiator pit.

— Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
But the emotional gravity of this offering's deeply personal, melancholic lyrical content plucks an undeniably profound chord that uniquely separates it from the rest of his work.

— Chris Barilla, PEOPLE, 29 May 2026