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 is related to wreck and implies causing something bad to happen; think of destruction.
• Reeking can hint at a bad smell, because reek means a strong unpleasant odor.
• Both words share havoc, so focus on the first word to see the difference.
• When something is wreaking havoc, it is causing chaos or damage effectively.
• If something reeks, it usually involves a physical or metaphorical smell, but when paired with havoc, it's often a mistake.