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to wring from

to wring from

2 8.1
Get something from someone after a lot of effort or pressure
  • phrasal verb
  • /rɪŋ frʌm/
translation icon : arrancar
  • We'll wring it from him!
  • wring concessions from
  • wring profit from
  • wring more from

Examples

  • Her children slogged along, eyes down, accepting another day and whatever new pain it wrung from them.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Quakers were, of course, the original charter group in Pennsylvania, had dominated its assembly, and had wrung extraordinary powers from the absentee proprietor.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Perhaps this has been part of a negotiating strategy, with room to maneuver if concessions can be wrung from others on perceived inequities in their systems.

    Academic text (1994)
  • In tense negotiations on a host of difficult bilateral issues, Kantor's confrontational tactics have wrung concessions from trading partners and earned Clinton political points at home.

    Academic text (1996)
  • The negotiator managed to wring a concession from the opposing team after hours of discussion.

  • She was able to wring an apology from him, though it took a lot of persuasion.

  • It took considerable effort for the journalist to wring the truth from the reluctant witness.

Synonyms

to wring
vsto wring from
24 7.4

Make someone give you something by using pressure or threats

is about getting something with great effort or persuasion instead of threats
to wrest
vsto wring from
  • Formal
17 7.6

To take something from someone with great effort or force

is about obtaining through pressure or persuasion not necessarily by force
to wrest from
vsto wring from
4 8.7

To force something away from someone after a struggle

focuses on gaining by effort and persuasion rather than physical force

How Hard

to wring from
2 8.1
to extract
166 3.9
to obtain
619 2.6
to get
1.0

Surface Forms

wring from infinitive
wringing from present participle
wrings from third person singular
wrung from past
wrung from past participle

Morphology

wring + from

The verb 'wring' carries the core sense of forcibly extracting (literally twisting to remove liquid), and the preposition 'from' clearly marks the source; the combined meaning 'extract/obtain something from someone with effort' is a direct, predictable composition of the constituents. This is a productive verb+preposition pattern rather than a language-specific idiom, so a B1 learner who knows 'wring' and 'from' can infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Wring from may come from the image of wringing a wet cloth to squeeze water out from it. So, to wring from someone means to 'get something' from them only after a lot of pressure or effort.