Synonyms of racking

racking 1 of 2

adjective

as in wrenching

intensely or unbearably painful

a racking cough kept him awake all night

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wrenching
• torturing
• agonizing
• torturous
• intense
• excruciating
• raging
• tormenting
• biting
• violent
• harrowing
• extreme
• acute
• tearing
• stabbing
• shooting
• penetrating
• exquisite
• fierce
• cutting
• piercing
• stinging
• sharp
• vehement
• tingling
• smarting

racking

2 of 2

verb

present participle of rack

1

as in plaguing

to cause persistent suffering to

the young man was racked with guilt over the lie he had told to his parents

the country has been racked by years of civil war

Synonyms & Similar Words

• plaguing
• afflicting
• persecuting
• torturing
• besieging
• attacking
• tormenting
• cursing
• bothering
• bedeviling
• agonizing
• excruciating
• besetting
• anguishing
• stinging
• harrowing
• troubling
• striking
• riding
• assailing
• pursuing
• trying
• badgering
• dogging
• agitating
• straining
• stressing
• hounding
• disturbing
• bugging
• crushing
• overwhelming
• hurting
• distressing
• pestering
• aggravating
• worrying
• harassing
• grating
• griping
• stabbing
• oppressing
• molesting
• riling
• chafing
• irritating
• annoying
• nettling
• smarting
• perturbing
• piquing
• grieving
• getting
• vexing
• upsetting
• galling
• pricking
• irking
• exasperating
• harrying
• victimizing
• wringing
• smiting
• rasping
• putting out
• overpowering
• discomforting
• disquieting
• flustering
• tyrannizing
• paining
• discomposing
• peeving
• panging
• hagriding
• martyring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• helping
• assisting
• aiding
• relieving
• delivering
• abetting
• releasing
• quieting
• comforting
• contenting
• soothing
• consoling
• reprieving
• solacing
• succoring

2

as in pulling

to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure

she racked her brain trying to remember where she'd put the money

the sails of the boat were racked by the storm's winds

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pulling
• straining
• damaging
• stretching
• hurting
• bruising
• weakening
• wrenching
• taxing
• battering
• impairing
• tearing
• crippling
• wounding
• harming
• fraying
• mutilating
• mangling
• laming

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of racking

Verb

Diaz reportedly responded by racking his handgun and firing at Martinez’s feet. — Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 8 July 2026

Opponents of these warehouse-like complexes, which are filled with energy-hungry computer servers, are racking wins. — The Week Us, TheWeek, 6 July 2026

Kelce hasn't done too shabby either, racking in $111 million from NFL contracts alone. — Ralphie Aversa, USA Today, 25 June 2026

Six years ago, Donald Milton III, artistic director of the Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus, was having lunch with the organization’s accompanist, Eric Baumgartner, racking their respective brains about future projects. — Jim Farmer, AJC.com, 10 June 2026

Theories of how the book survived Library Manager Myles Cooper has been racking his brain for an explanation of how the book found its way home. — Sneha Dhandapani, CNN Money, 30 May 2026

Detectives said the witness also told police about a video that had surfaced online that appeared to show Jones going to his vehicle, retrieving an object, and then making a racking motion consistent with using a gun before walking to where the shooting unfolded. — Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026

Since avian flu turned eggs into a luxury item, pastry chef Annie Clemmons has spent countless hours in her Maryland workshop, racking her brains about how to replace them in her recipes. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 26 Feb. 2026

On the small screen, the influencer Gabriella Carr recently drew her sizable flock to a rejection spreadsheet, where the video creator and actress means to track all her professional door-slams with an eye to racking ’em up. — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 4 Feb. 2026