| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| wreak |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  r k |
| TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: wreaked, wreak·ing, wreaks
1. To inflict (vengeance or punishment) upon a person. 2. To express or gratify (anger, malevolence, or resentment); vent. 3. To bring about; cause: wreak havoc. 4. Archaic To take vengeance for; avenge. | | ETYMOLOGY: | 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.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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