wrenching

Verb

wrench (third-person singular simple present wrenches, present participle wrenching, simple past and past participle wrenched)

1. (transitive) To pull or twist violently.
   • With a surge of adrenaline, she wrenched the car door off and pulled out the injured man.
2. (transitive) To injure (a joint) by pulling or twisting.
   • Be careful not to wrench your ankle walking along those loose stones!
3. (transitive) To distort the original meaning of; to misrepresent.
4. (transitive) To rack with pain; to make hurt or distressed.
   • And what actinic, mind-wrenching form could the countermeme take? How could human hands assemble something so devastatingly powerful and hold it steady; what human mind could wield it without exploding from the inside out?2019 December 9, qntm, “Wild Light”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, page 191
5. (transitive) To deprive by means of a violent pull or twist.
6. (transitive) To use a wrench; to twist with a wrench.
   • The plumber wrenched the pipes until they came loose.

See all 25 meanings of wrench