Wreaking havoc vs. Reeking havoc

Wreaking havoc

/ˈriːkɪŋ ˈhævək/

Causing significant damage or disruption.

Examples:

The storm is wreaking havoc on coastal communities.Uncontrolled fires are wreaking havoc in the dry regions.The glitch started wreaking havoc on all systems.

Synonyms:

destructingdamagingdestroyingdisrupting

Antonyms:

repairing

Reeking havoc

/ˈriːkɪŋ ˈhævək/

Causing widespread chaos or destruction

Examples:

The storm reeked havoc on the small coastal village.Unauthorized files reeked havoc on the office computers.Her sudden departure reeked havoc on the project's timeline.

Synonyms:

This word has no synonyms

Antonyms:

This word has no antonyms

Ways to tell them apart:

• Wreaking has an a, just like cause. Remember it as causing havoc.
• Reeking relates to smell, similar to how something can reek of a bad odor.
• Wreaking havoc is about causing chaos, not producing a smell.
• If you think reek like stink, it's about an unpleasant smell, not destruction.
• When in doubt, remember wreak havoc is an expression used for causing damage, whereas reek can cause a stink.