To make the sound and motion of vomiting or to gag without necessarily expelling anything.
Examples:
The smell made him retch violently.I start to retch at the thought of eating that.She turned away, trying to suppress the retch.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Wretch
/retʃ/
A person who is very unhappy or in a very difficult situation.
Examples:
The poor wretch had lost everything in the fire.Even the villain was a wretch seeking redemption.Her heart went out to the lonely wretch on the street.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
Wretch starts with a w, like woeful, which is how a wretch might feel or appear.
Retch starts with an r, like retching or retch-inducing, which relates to the action of gagging.
A wretch is typically a person, someone pitiful, while retch is an action your body performs when you're feeling queasy.
Wretch contains w, which can remind you of woe, adding to its meaning of being in misfortune or misery.
Retch, on the other hand, deals with the throat and gag reflex, so remember retch and throat both contain t.