• Moko, the banana disease, has already wreaked havoc on the trade —Times, 1983
• A series of worms and viruses has wrought havoc on Windows PCs —Business Pundit, AmE 2004.
Modern English usage. 2014.
Wreak — Wreak, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Wreaked}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Wreaking}.] [OE. wrek?? to revenge, punish, drive out, AS. wrecan; akin to OFries. wreka, OS. wrekan to punish, D. wreken to avenge, G. r[ a]chen, OHG. rehhan, Icel. reka to drive, to take… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
wreak — [ri:k] v past tense and past participle wreaked or wrought [ro:t US ro:t] [: Old English; Origin: wrecan to drive out, punish ] 1.) wreak havoc/mayhem/destruction (on sth) to cause a lot of damage or problems ▪ These policies have wreaked havoc… … Dictionary of contemporary English
wreak — [ rik ] verb wreak havoc/destruction MAINLY JOURNALISM to cause very great harm or damage: These policies would wreak havoc on the economy. wreak revenge/vengeance MAINLY LITERARY to punish someone for something bad they have done to you … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
Wreak — Wreak, n. [Cf. AS. wr[ae]c exile, persecution, misery. See {Wreak}, v. t.] Revenge; vengeance; furious passion; resentment. [Obs.] Shak. Spenser. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Wreak — Wreak, v. i. To reck; to care. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
wreak — wreak·ful; wreak; … English syllables
wreak — ► VERB 1) cause (a large amount of damage or harm). 2) inflict (vengeance). USAGE The past tense of wreak is wreaked, as in rainstorms wreaked havoc yesterday , not wrought. When wrought is used in the phrase wrought havoc, it is in fact an… … English terms dictionary
wreak´er — wreak «reek», transitive verb. 1. to give expression to; work off (feelings, desires, or the like): »The cruel boy wreaked his bad temper on his dog. 2. to inflict (vengeance or punishment): »Till vengeance had been wreaked for the wrongs… … Useful english dictionary
wreak — index inflict Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
wreak — (v.) O.E. wrecan avenge, originally to drive, drive out, punish (class V strong verb; past tense wræc, pp. wrecen), from P.Gmc. *wrekanan (Cf. O.S. wrekan, O.N. reka, O.Fris. wreka, M.Du. wreken to drive, push, compel, pursue, throw, O.H.G.… … Etymology dictionary
