wrecked 1 of 2

adjective

as in destroyed

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wrecked

2 of 2

verb

past tense of wreck
1
as in stranded
to cause irreparable damage to (a ship) by running aground or sinking many an unwary captain has wrecked his ship on the shoals that surround the island

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2
as in ruined
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of most of the furniture on the ground floor was wrecked by the floodwaters

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wrecked
Adjective
The Audi driver ran off with his car’s license plates, leaving the wrecked luxury car behind. — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 13 Oct. 2026 Police and firefighters responding to the area discovered the wrecked vehicle along the hillside. — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2026 Hundreds of clay jars known as amphorae were discovered inside the wrecked ship, alongside lead anchor stocks and other artifacts, police said. — Isabella Colletta, NBC news, 10 Aug. 2026 The attack reduced the house to rubble and wrecked outbuildings and cars. — ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026 Police and first responders were already on scene, cutting the roof off the wrecked car to rescue the individuals inside, who were put into ambulances. — Allison Kiehl, Chicago Tribune, 25 July 2026 The second flood has left behind more than wrecked homes, reopening trauma wounds for many survivors. — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 20 July 2026 Likewise, clouds of metal scraps can be seen around wrecked ships floating through Meteos. — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 9 July 2026 Clay, along with a passenger, fled on foot, leaving the wrecked car behind, police said. — Jason Green, Mercury News, 7 July 2026
Verb
Researchers believe the ship may have been traveling from the Levantine coast, which runs from Turkey in the north to Egypt in the south, to Troy or Crete when it was wrecked. — Jack Guy, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026 The story centers on an influencer whose life is wrecked by an online pile-on. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026 The Nantucket Current reported that the wreck is likely part of a 19th-century wooden ship that wrecked near Miacomet Beach in 1884. — Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 27 Sep. 2026 The plant’s interior pot has drainage holes, hidden in the cachepot, so your plant won’t drown and your hardwoods won’t get wrecked. — Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Sep. 2026 This may then seem like yet another story about how Trump has wrecked norms and corrupted the rule of law. — James Surowiecki, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026 As more cars wrecked behind the incident, NASCAR was forced to throw the caution flag — freezing the field with Preece in front. — Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2026 The Audi pair almost had a similar problem when Gabriel Bortoleto spun on a greasy but drying track that also caught out and wrecked Verstappen on the opening lap. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 24 Aug. 2026 Zebra striping is gaining traction as more Americans look for a way to enjoy nights out without waking up wrecked. — Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 24 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrecked
  1. ruined
  2. stranded
  3. destroyed
  4. devastated
  5. scuttled
  6. demolished
  7. damaged
  8. shipwrecked
Adjective
  • Sitting on the rim of his consciousness was always cataclysm, the muted whisper of a ruined world.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
Definition of ruined
Verb
  • There is a possibility of being stranded on Hatteras Island for multiple days.
    — NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Two Utah residents who hiked Mount Shasta in Northern California were rescued after they became stranded during a perilous 36-hour journey through freezing conditions.
    — Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of stranded
Verb
  • Firefighters battling a blaze that destroyed six homes in south Orange County can expect a bit of reprieve Saturday afternoon as Santa Ana winds begin to die down.
    — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Its owners, a family of three, left for a cruise before the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel destroyed their property.
    — Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of destroyed
Adjective
  • Each also wrestles with the devastated idealism of our times.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The region has weathered, quite literally, some difficult times in the past few years, after Hurricane Helene blew through in 2024 and devastated parts of the Asheville area, including Historic Biltmore Village.
    — Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of devastated
Verb
  • The second was about how the no-new-tax pledge scuttled the mission of reducing the budget deficit—a key goal of Darman’s.
    — Bob Woodward, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The transaction was scuttled two months later after OpenAI shut down Sora, which had drawn a host of legal complaints alleging copyright violation.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of scuttled
Verb
  • That includes what else could get demolished or built, beyond the stadium and team headquarters.
    — Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The island is the former home of a Renault factory, which was active for most of the 20th century and demolished in 2005.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of demolished
Adjective
  • Terrain may obstruct radio signals, while damaged infrastructure can limit cellular access.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026
  • At least five people were reported missing, 49 were rescued, and the flood swept away about three dozen homes and damaged bridges, power lines and a hydropower construction site.
    — Binaj Gurubacharya, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of damaged
Verb
  • In a passage from the Book of Acts, Paul is shipwrecked while sailing for Rome.
    — John Blake, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026
  • They are subsequently shipwrecked, with Odysseus left as the sole survivor on the shores of Calypso’s island.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 July 2026
Definition of shipwrecked

Browse Nearby Words

wreckages
wrecked
wrecker
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Cite this Entry

“Wrecked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrecked. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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