Wreak

WORD OF THE DAY

wreak / verb / REEK

Definition
1: bring about, cause
2a: to cause the infliction of (vengeance or punishment)
2b (archaic): avenge
3: to give free play or course to (malevolent feeling)

Examples
"[Rats] rustle around in trash cans and take up residence in sewers, which feeds the false impression that they are fundamentally dirty creatures. Worse still, they invade homes and other indoor spaces. Squirrels do this too—given the opportunity, they'll wreak havoc in your attic—but not as frequently."
— Jacob Stern, The Atlantic, 8 July 2022

Gustwiller played nose guard and defensive tackle in 2021, using brute force to wreak havoc along the way.
— Jonathan X. Simmons, cleveland, 5 Aug. 2022

Did You Know?
Wreak is a venerable word that first appeared in Old English as wrecan, meaning "to drive, drive out, punish, or avenge."
Wrecan is related to a number of similar words in the Germanic languages, including Middle Dutch wreken ("to punish, avenge"), Old High German rehhan ("to avenge"), Old Norse reka ("to drive, push, or avenge"), and Gothic wrikan ("to persecute").
It may also be related to Latin urgēre ("to drive on, urge"), the source of the English verb urge.
In modern English, vengeance is a common object of the verb wreak, reflecting one of its earlier uses in the sense "to take vengeance for"—as when Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus proclaims "We will solicit heaven, and move the gods / To send down Justice for to wreak our wrongs."