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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Wrenching

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.]

  1. To pull with a twist; to wrest, twist, or force by violence.

    Wrench his sword from him.
    --Shak.

    Forthwith this frame of mine was wrenched With a woeful agony.
    --Coleridge.

  2. To strain; to sprain; hence, to distort; to pervert.

    You wrenched your foot against a stone.
    --Swift.

Wiktionary
wrenching

n. The act by which something is wrenched. vb. (present participle of wrench English)

WordNet
wrenching

adj. causing great physical or mental suffering; "a wrenching pain" [syn: racking]

Usage examples of "wrenching".

McKenzie leapt up in a fury in the shadowed room, throwing the covers over her, wrenching a bath sheet from the foot of the bed to wrap around his waist.

The firsthand account of the attack was gut wrenching to the core, and when Ransome had finished speaking, Jarrett was silent for several minutes.

She kept her gaze on his, and he suddenly hurried again, wrenching off his frock coat, waistcoat, heedless of buttons and threads.

He set her down none too gently, wrenching away her loosened petticoat, pantalettes, and corset.

In her mind she saw Barnabas gasp for air and breathe again with great wrenching gulps as Josette embraced him with joy.

Carlie tore her hand free and slipped her arms around his neck, a soft sob wrenching loose when he gathered her up in a hard, tight embrace.

He roughly tucked her head against his neck, a tremor shuddering through him, and Carlie yielded to the pressure of his arms, tears of a deep, wrenching gladness slipping from beneath her lashes.

One hand clamped around the back of her neck, he slid his hand under her skirt and drew her up hard against his pelvis, his hold viselike, the feel of him wrenching a broken sob from her.

This child, who was the only innocent in the whole terrible mess, would become the casualty in a moral tug-of-war, and the emotional pain, the sense of betrayal, the wrenching sense of loss, would be hers to carry.

He was a most extraordinary storytellerhe always had beenand for a time Esmenet found herself lost in the Battle of Anwurat and its wrenching intricacies.

As he felt himself wrenching out of shape, exhilaration eroded his panic and sang through him.

Before he reached it, he felt a twisting, a terrible wrenching and then--nothing.

Sergei groaned with the wrenching agony, at the same time realizing his senses had never been so keen.

Then there was the giddy internal wrenching, a blast of icy air whistled round us, and we were gazing out at the Polar mountains, ringed in their eternal snow.

He braked with his wings and dropped into the bird bath of the Circle of Heroes, wrenching us from our berths.