Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Wrest \Wrest\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Wrested}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Wresting}.] [OE. wresten, AS. wr?stan; akin to wr?? a
   twisted band, and wr[=i]?n to twist. See {Writhe}.]
   1. To turn; to twist; esp., to twist or extort by violence;
      to pull of force away by, or as if by, violent wringing or
      twisting. ``The secret wrested from me.'' --Milton.

            Our country's cause, That drew our swords, now
            secret wrests them from our hand.     --Addison.

            They instantly wrested the government out of the
            hands of Hastings.                    --Macaulay.

   2. To turn from truth; to twist from its natural or proper
      use or meaning by violence; to pervert; to distort.

            Wrest once the law to your authority. --Shak.

            Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor. --Ex.
                                                  xxiii. 6.

            Their arts of wresting, corrupting, and false
            interpreting the holy text.           --South.

   3. To tune with a wrest, or key. [Obs.]