Wednesday, September 5, 2012

reek, wreak

Reek or reek means to stink, or to give off  an odor--
When they got home from a fishing trip, their clothes would reek of fish through several washings.
The fire made his coat reek from the smoke.

Wreak or wreak ( rhymes with reek ) means to act out negative emotion, or to perpetrate, as mischief or mayhem, through emotion--
The old woman was afraid her grandson would wreak havoc among her breakables.
He had sworn to wreak vengeance upon his enemies.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"The skunk didn't wreak destruction in the garden after the dog chased him, but the reek left on the dog lasted for days."

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