- Wresting
- Wrest Wrest, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Wrested}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Wresting}.] [OE. wresten, AS. wr?stan; akin to wr?? a
twisted band, and wr[=i]?n to twist. See {Writhe}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. To turn; to twist; esp., to twist or extort by violence;
to pull of force away by, or as if by, violent wringing or
twisting. ``The secret wrested from me.'' --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
Our country's cause, That drew our swords, now secret wrests them from our hand. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
They instantly wrested the government out of the hands of Hastings. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
2. To turn from truth; to twist from its natural or proper use or meaning by violence; to pervert; to distort. [1913 Webster]
Wrest once the law to your authority. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor. --Ex. xxiii. 6. [1913 Webster]
Their arts of wresting, corrupting, and false interpreting the holy text. --South. [1913 Webster]
3. To tune with a wrest, or key. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
