Meaning & use
wrenching
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Causing deep emotional pain or distress.
Grammar: Goes before a noun or after be: a wrenching decision, the scene was wrenching.
Patterns
- wrenching + noun
- be wrenching to watch
The documentary showed wrenching scenes from the flood.
Leaving his hometown was a wrenching decision.
It was wrenching to say goodbye to the old house.
adjectivebefore a noun
Involving a violent twisting or pulling movement.
Grammar: Describes a physical movement: a wrenching jolt.
Patterns
- wrenching + noun
The car came to a wrenching stop.
A wrenching pain shot through his shoulder.
Word forms
| comparative | more wrenching |
|---|---|
| superlative | most wrenching |
Common combinations
- wrenching decision
- Selling the family farm was a wrenching decision.
- wrenching experience
- Moving abroad alone was a wrenching experience.
- gut-wrenching
- The news was gut-wrenching.
- heart-wrenching
- It was a heart-wrenching story about a lost dog.
- wrenching loss
- The wrenching loss left the whole town grieving.
Synonyms and how they differ
- harrowing
- Harrowing suggests a terrifying or deeply disturbing ordeal, while wrenching suggests painful emotional tearing.
- agonizing
- Agonizing stresses extreme suffering, often over a time of waiting.
- heartbreaking
- Heartbreaking is about sadness over loss or sympathy, and is gentler than wrenching.
- distressing
- Distressing is a plain, general word that is much weaker in effect.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: wrenching or rending?
wrenching vs rending
Rending means tearing apart, as in a heart-rending cry; it is very close to wrenching but is more literary.
Practice
Which phrase best completes: 'It was a ____ moment when the family said goodbye at the airport.'
Choose one answer.
Wrenching describes painful emotion. The other words are real but have no meaning that fits a farewell.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wrenching”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.