[syn: twist, sprain, wrench, turn, wrick, rick]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Wrench \Wrench\ (r[e^]nch), n. [OE. wrench deceit, AS. wrenc
deceit, a twisting; akin to G. rank intrigue, crookedness,
renken to bend, twist, and E. wring. [root]144. See Wring,
and cf. Ranch, v. t.]
[1913 Webster]
1. Trick; deceit; fraud; stratagem. [Obs.]
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His wily wrenches thou ne mayst not flee. --Chaucer.
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2. A violent twist, or a pull with twisting.
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He wringeth them such a wrench. --Skelton.
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The injurious effect upon biographic literature of
all such wrenches to the truth, is diffused
everywhere. --De Quincey.
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3. A sprain; an injury by twisting, as in a joint.
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4. Means; contrivance. [Obs.] --Bacon.
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5. An instrument, often a simple bar or lever with jaws or an
angular orifice either at the end or between the ends, for
exerting a twisting strain, as in turning bolts, nuts,
screw taps, etc.; a screw key. Many wrenches have
adjustable jaws for grasping nuts, etc., of different
sizes.
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6. (Mech.) The system made up of a force and a couple of
forces in a plane perpendicular to that force. Any number
of forces acting at any points upon a rigid body may be
compounded so as to be equivalent to a wrench.
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Carriage wrench, a wrench adapted for removing or
tightening the nuts that confine the wheels on the axles,
or for turning the other nuts or bolts of a carriage or
wagon.
Monkey wrench. See under Monkey.
Wrench hammer, a wrench with the end shaped so as to admit
of being used as a hammer.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Wrench \Wrench\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wrenched; p. pr. & vb. n.
Wrenching.] [OE. wrenchen, AS. wrencan to deceive,
properly, to twist, from wrenc guile, deceit, a twisting.
????. See Wrench, n.]
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1. To pull with a twist; to wrest, twist, or force by
violence.
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Wrench his sword from him. --Shak.
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Forthwith this frame of mine was wrenched
With a woeful agony. --Coleridge.
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2. To strain; to sprain; hence, to distort; to pervert.
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You wrenched your foot against a stone. --Swift.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
wrench
n 1: a sharp strain on muscles or ligaments; "the wrench to his
knee occurred as he fell"; "he was sidelined with a
hamstring pull" [syn: wrench, twist, pull]
2: a jerky pulling movement [syn: twist, wrench]
3: a hand tool that is used to hold or twist a nut or bolt [syn:
wrench, spanner]
v 1: twist or pull violently or suddenly, especially so as to
remove (something) from that to which it is attached or
from where it originates; "wrench a window off its hinges";
"wrench oneself free from somebody's grip"; "a deep sigh
was wrenched from his chest" [syn: wrench, twist]
2: make a sudden twisting motion
3: twist and compress, as if in pain or anguish; "Wring one's
hand" [syn: wring, wrench]
4: twist suddenly so as to sprain; "wrench one's ankle"; "The
wrestler twisted his shoulder"; "the hikers sprained their
ankles when they fell"; "I turned my ankle and couldn't walk
for several days" [syn: twist, sprain, wrench, turn,
wrick, rick]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
264 Moby Thesaurus words for "wrench":
Allen wrench, Stillson wrench, abrade, abrasion, ache, aching,
acute pain, adjustable wrench, alligator wrench, anamorphism,
anamorphosis, asymmetry, badger, bark, belie, bend, bite,
blackmail, blemish, bloody, blow, bob, boring pain, box wrench,
break, buckle, burlesque, burn, camouflage, caricature,
carriage wrench, chafe, chain wrench, charley horse, check, chip,
claim, claw, coerce, color, compel, concussion, confuse, constrain,
contort, contortion, crack, crackle, cramp, cramps, craze, crick,
crook, crookedness, crumple, cut, darting pain, demand, detorsion,
deviation, disguise, disproportion, distort, distortion, distress,
dolor, drag, exact, exaction, exaggerate, extort, extortion,
falsify, flash burn, flick, flip, flirt, flounce, force,
force from, fracture, fray, frazzle, fret, fulgurant pain, gall,
garble, gash, get one wrong, get wrong, girdle pain, gloss, gnarl,
gnawing, gouge, grief, griping, hitch, hurt, imbalance, incise,
incision, injure, injury, irregularity, jerk, jig, jigger, jigget,
jiggle, jog, joggle, jumping pain, kink, knot, lacerate,
laceration, lancinating pain, lesion, levy blackmail, lopsidedness,
lug wrench, maim, make mincemeat of, maul, misapply, misapprehend,
miscite, miscolor, misconceive, misconstrue, misdeem, misexplain,
misexplicate, misexpound, misinterpret, misjudge, misquote,
misread, misrender, misreport, misrepresent, misstate, mistake,
misteach, mistranslate, misunderstand, monkey wrench, mortal wound,
mutilate, mutilation, nasty blow, nip, overdraw, overstate, pain,
pang, parody, paroxysm, passion, pervert, pierce, pinch,
pipe wrench, pluck, prick, pry loose from, puncture, quirk, rend,
rend from, rending, rent, rick, rip, rip from, ripping, run,
rupture, savage, scald, scorch, scotch, scrape, scratch, screw,
screw key, scuff, second-degree burn, seizure, shake down,
sharp pain, shock, shoot, shooting, shooting pain, skin, slant,
slash, slit, snake, snatch, snatch from, socket wrench, sore,
sore spot, spanner, spark-plug wrench, spasm, sprain, spring,
squeeze, stab, stab wound, stabbing pain, start, stick, stitch,
strain, strain the sense, stress, stress of life, stroke,
sudden pull, suffering, tap wrench, tappet wrench, tear, tear from,
tearing, tender spot, third-degree burn, thrill, throes, tormen,
torsion, tortuosity, torture, trauma, traumatize, travesty, turn,
turn awry, tweak, twinge, twist, twist the words, twitch,
understate, unsymmetry, warp, wound, wounds immedicable,
wrench from, wrenching, wrest, wresting, wring, wring from,
wringing, writhe, wry, yank, yerk