wrest

/rɛst/

Other forms: wrested; wresting; wrests

To wrest is to forcefully grab or take something away. You can wrest away many things, such as remote controls and championships.

This word is strong and a little violent. It's not easy to wrest something away. Wresting away is a little like "wrestling" something away — you can't get it without a fight. Objects can be wrested away, but so can non-physical things. In a tough election, you could say the new president wrests away the title of commander-in-chief from the incumbent candidate.

Definitions of wrest

1. verb

   obtain by seizing forcibly or violently, also metaphorically
   “wrest the knife from his hands”

   “wrest a meaning from the old text”

   “wrest power from the old government”

   type of:

   seize

   take or capture by force