wrest

tr.v., wrest·ed, wrest·ing, wrests.

1. To obtain by or as if by pulling with violent twisting movements: wrested the book out of his hands; wrested the islands from the settlers.
2. To usurp forcefully: wrested power from the monarchy.
3. To extract by or as if by force, twisting, or persistent effort; wring: wrest the meaning from an obscure poem.
4. 1. To distort or twist the nature or meaning of: wrested the words out of context.
   2. To divert to an improper use; misapply.

n.

1. The act of wresting.
2. Music. A small tuning key for the wrest pins of a stringed instrument.

[Middle English wresten, from Old English wrǣstan, to twist.]

wrester wrest'er n.

verb

1. To alter the position of by a sharp, forcible twisting or turning movement: wrench, wring. See move/halt.
2. To obtain by coercion or intimidation: exact, extort, squeeze, wrench, wring. Slang shake down. See get/lose.
3. To give an inaccurate view of by representing falsely or misleadingly: belie, color, distort, falsify, load, misrepresent, misstate, pervert, twist, warp, wrench. Idioms: give a false coloring to. See true/false.

IN BRIEF: Obtain by seizing forcibly or violently, also metaphorically.

The dog's owner had to wrest away the hank of rope each time the dog returned from fetching it.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The verb has one meaning:

Meaning #1: obtain by seizing forcibly or violently, also metaphorically

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Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - vriste, rykke, tvinge, fordreje, forvanske
n. - ryk, stemmenøgle

Nederlands (Dutch)
wegdraaien, afpakken, ontworstelen

Français (French)
v. tr. - arracher, usurper, forcer, acharner, ruser, fausser/déformer (sens), mal employer
n. - arrachage, clef d'accordeur

Deutsch (German)
v. - entreißen, abringen, verdrehen
n. - Stimmhammer

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - αποσπώ (με βία ή κόπο), διαστρέφω
n. - στρέψιμο, τράβηγμα

Italiano (Italian)
strappare, strappo

Português (Portuguese)
v. - arrancar, torcer, deturpar
n. - puxão com violência (m), chave de afinar (f)

Русский (Russian)
вырывать (силой), выдергивать, выворачивать, добиваться ценой больших усилий, вырывать (согласие), извращать (факты), злоупотреблять чем-л.

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - arrebatar, arrancar, alterar, desvirtuar
n. - torsión violenta, llave o palanca para afinar (piano, arpa, etc.)

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - rycka, förvrida, förvanska, vränga (lag)
n. - ryck, stämnyckel (mus.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
夺取, 歪曲, 猛扭, 扭, 猛夺, 拧

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 奪取, 歪曲, 猛扭
n. - 扭, 猛奪, 擰

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 비틀다, 잡아 떼다, ~을 노력하여 얻다
n. - 비틂, 조율 도구

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - ねじる, 無理に取る, 意味をゆがめる
n. - ねじり

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يلوي بعنف, يسحب بعنف, ينتزع, يغتصب, يحرف (الاسم) لوي, ملوى الدوزنه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮הוציא בכוח, משך, סחט, השיג בקושי, עיוות, סילף‬
n. - ‮מפתח לכיוונון נבל/פסנתר (מיושן)‬

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