Wordul · all words

verb · 1 syllable · /rɛst/

WREST

What does "WREST" mean?

To take or pull something away violently or with effort, especially against resistance.

Meanings

  1. To pull or twist something away forcibly from someone's grasp. She wrested the knife from his hand.
  2. To gain something by long or hard effort, as if by force. The rebels wrested control of the capital from the regime.
  3. To distort the meaning or interpretation of something. Critics accused him of wresting the text to suit his argument. formal

Did you know?

  • Before WREST meant to seize by force, it meant simply to twist: a 'wrest' is still a tuning key used to turn the pins of a harp or piano, the gentle ancestor of the violent verb.

Word origin

From Old English 'wraestan' (to twist, wrench), from a Germanic root meaning 'to turn'; the tool called a 'wrest' was once used to twist the tuning pins of a harp.

Remember it

WREST is 'rest' with a wrenching W: you don't rest, you wrest it from someone's grip.

A little poem

No gift was given, none was pressed-
what freedom came, they had to wrest.

couplet

What it teaches

Some things are given and some are wrested; know which you face before you reach out your hand.

Quick facts

What does WREST mean?

To take or pull something away violently or with effort, especially against resistance.

Is WREST a valid word?

Yes — WREST is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.

How many letters is WREST?

WREST has 5 letters and 1 syllable.

Where does WREST come from?

From Old English 'wraestan' (to twist, wrench), from a Germanic root meaning 'to turn'; the tool called a 'wrest' was once used to twist the tuning pins of a harp.

What can WREST teach us?

Some things are given and some are wrested; know which you face before you reach out your hand.

How players do

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