WREAK

bring, work, play, wreak, make for

(verb) cause to happen or to occur as a consequence; “I cannot work a miracle”; “wreak havoc”; “bring comments”; “play a joke”; “The rain brought relief to the drought-stricken area”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology 1

Verb

wreak (third-person singular simple present wreaks, present participle wreaking, simple past wrought or (rare) wroke or wreaked, past participle wrought or (rare) wroken or wreaked)

(transitive) To cause something harmful; to afflict; to inflict; to harm or injury; to let out something harmful; .

(transitive) To chasten, or chastise/chastize, or castigate, or punish, or smite.

(archaic) To inflict or take vengeance on.

(archaic) To take vengeance for.

(intransitive) Misspelling of reek.

Usage notes

The verb wreak is generally used in the form “wreak damage or harm of some sort (on something)”, and is often used in the set phrase wreak havoc, though “wreak damage”, “wreak destruction”, and “wreak revenge” are also common.

Not to be confused with wreck, with similar meaning of destruction and similar etymological roots; common confusion in misspelling wreck havoc. Sometimes confused with wrack and rack.

It has become common to use wrought, the original past tense and participle for work, as the past tense and past participle for wreak, as in wrought havoc (i.e. worked havoc for wreaked havoc), due both to the fact that the weak form worked has edged out wrought from its former role almost entirely (except as an adjective referring usually to hand-worked metal goods), and via confusion from the wr- beginning both wreak and wrought, and probably by analogy with seek.

Etymology 2

Noun

wreak (plural wreaks)

(archaic, literary) Revenge; vengeance; furious passion; resentment.

(archaic, literary) Punishment; retribution; payback.

Anagrams

• kewra, waker, wrake

Source: Wiktionary

Wreak, v. i.

Definition: To reck; to care. [Obs.] Shak.

Wreak, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wreaked; p. pr. & vb. n. Wreaking.] Etym: [OE. wrek to revenge, punish, drive out, AS. wrecan; akin to OFries. wreka, OS. wrekan to punish, D. wreken to avenge, G. rächen, OHG. rehhan, Icel. reka to drive, to take vengeance, Goth. wrikan to persecute, Lith. vargas distress, vargti to suffer distress, L. urgere to drive, urge, Gr. Urge, Wreck, Wretch.]

1. To revenge; to avenge. [Archaic] He should wreake him on his foes. Chaucer. Another's wrongs to wreak upon thyself. Spenser. Come wreak his loss, whom bootless ye complain. Fairfax.

2. To execute in vengeance or passion; to inflict; to hurl or drive; as, to wreak vengeance on an enemy. On me let Death wreak all his rage. Milton. Now was the time to be avenged on his old enemy, to wreak a grudge of seventeen years. Macaulay. But gather all thy powers, And wreak them on the verse that thou dost weave. Bryant.

Wreak, n. Etym: [Cf. AS. wræc exile, persecution, misery. See Wreak, v. t.]

Definition: Revenge; vengeance; furious passion; resentment. [Obs.] Shak. Spenser.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition