wreak

Meaning

Verb

1. (transitive) To cause harm; to afflict; to inflict; to harm or injure; to let out harm.
2. (archaic) To chasten, or chastise/chastize, or castigate, or punish, or smite.
3. (archaic) To inflict or take vengeance on.
4. (archaic) To take vengeance for.
5. (alt-of, intransitive, misspelling) Misspelling of reek.

Noun

1. (archaic, literary) Revenge; vengeance; furious passion; resentment.
2. (archaic, literary) Punishment; retribution; payback.

Synonyms

inflict

cause

give rise to

play

pose

bring

provoke

do

result in

cause to take place

make for

work

stage

hold

organize

fix

force

generate

get

give

have

implement

impose

induce

manufacture

move

necessitate

output

pall

pay

💸

perform

perpetrate

persuade

procure

produce

provide

purvey

put out

put through

realise

reprisal

retaliation

retribution

return

revenge

seize

set

settle

set up

supply

Translations

verursachen

auslassen

causar

aanrichten

provocar

déterminer

zufügen

stichten

veranlassen

bewirken

causare

antun

ξεθυμαίνω

causer

bereiten

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɹiːk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: wreken

Inherited from Old English: wrecan

Cognate with Dutch: wreken

Cognate with German: rächen

Cognate with Swedish: vräka

Cognate with Latin: urgeō

Cognate with English: urge

Cognate with English: wreck

Inherited from Middle English: wreke

Cognate with Dutch: wraak

In summary

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.