wreaking
壊す
解説 Definition
wreaking は wreak（損害などをもたらす、引き起こす）の現在分詞・動名詞です。破壊や被害を生じさせていることを表し、damage などの語とともに使われることが多いです。
Wreaking means causing serious damage, destruction, or disruption, especially over a period of time. It is the present participle or gerund of wreak and is commonly followed by nouns such as damage, havoc, or destruction.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
wreak「損害・混乱などをもたらす」に -ing を付けた現在分詞・動名詞で、語末はそのまま wreaking、発音は /ˈriːkɪŋ/ です。wreak damage、wreak havoc、wreak destruction のように悪い結果を目的語に取る型で覚えましょう。単なる「壊す」より、広範な被害を引き起こす感覚です。
Begin with the base verb wreak, meaning “to cause or inflict something harmful,” and add -ing without changing the spelling: wreaking, pronounced /ˈriːkɪŋ/. Learn it through its strong collocations rather than as a general substitute for break: a storm is wreaking damage, a fire is wreaking destruction, or malware is wreaking havoc. The object normally names the harmful result, not the physical thing affected. This pattern helps distinguish wreaking damage from simply damaging one object: wreaking often suggests serious, spreading, or continuing consequences.
例文
The storm is wreaking serious damage along the coast.
その嵐は沿岸部に深刻な被害をもたらしています。
The fire was wreaking destruction before crews contained it.
消防隊が抑え込む前に、その火災は破壊を引き起こしていました。
A software error began wreaking damage on the stored files.
ソフトウェアのエラーが保存されたファイルに被害を与え始めました。
wreaking の類義語・関連語
派生語
紛らわしい語
wreaking の語源・成り立ち Etymology
古英語wrecan（追い出す、罰する、復讐する）から。ゲルマン祖語*wrekaną（追う）に遡り、ラテン語urgēre（駆り立てる）とも同根。関連語にwreck（破壊）、wretch（哀れな者＝追放された人）がある。「復讐として破壊をもたらす」が原義で、havocやdamageと共に使われる。
Wreaking is the -ing form of wreak. Wreak comes from Old English wrecan, which could mean “to drive out, punish, or avenge,” and is related to a Germanic verb meaning “to drive or pursue.” Its sense developed toward carrying out vengeance and then toward causing or inflicting harm. In current English, the verb survives especially in fixed combinations such as wreak havoc, wreak damage, and wreak destruction.
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