bewreck C2+ Topic:Verbs of Movement US /bɪˈrɛk/ UK /bɪˈrɛk/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 verb to ruin or bring to ruin Famine threatened to bewreck the whole province. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to ruin or bring to ruin ruinwreckdestroydevastatespoil ↔ Opposites buildrestore Word family Related forms wreck Etymology AI details 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 Verbs of Movement External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # 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 - Verbs of Movement markdown