bewreck

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /bɪˈrɛk/ UK /bɪˈrɛk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to ruin or bring to ruin

Famine threatened to bewreck the whole province.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to ruin or bring to ruin ruin wreck destroy devastate spoil

Opposites

build restore

Word family

Related forms wreck

Etymology

From be- (intensive prefix) + wreck, from Middle English wrek ('wreckage, ruin'), via Anglo-Norman from a Germanic root meaning 'to drive, push'.

be- Old English wrek Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# bewreck

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /bɪˈrɛk/
**IPA (UK):** /bɪˈrɛk/

## Meanings
1. to ruin or bring to ruin

## Examples
- Famine threatened to bewreck the whole province.

## Synonyms
- ruin
- wreck
- destroy
- devastate
- spoil

## Antonyms
- build
- restore

## Related Forms
- wreck

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: be-
- Root: wrek

## Etymology
From be- (intensive prefix) + wreck, from Middle English wrek ('wreckage, ruin'), via Anglo-Norman from a Germanic root meaning 'to drive, push'.

## AI Etymology
Bewreck comes from be- (intensive prefix) + wreck, from Middle English wrek ('wreckage, ruin'), via Anglo-Norman from a Germanic root meaning 'to drive, push'. The historical trail runs through Old English be- and Middle English wrek. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means to ruin or bring to ruin. Related forms include wreck.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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