gnawing [naw-ing] ExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for gnawing on Thesaurus.com noun
- the act of a person or thing that gnaws.
- Usually gnawings. persistent, dull pains; pangs: the gnawings of hunger.
Origin of gnawing Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at gnaw, -ing1 Related formsgnaw·ing·ly, adverb gnaw [naw] verb (used with object), gnawed, gnawed or gnawn, gnaw·ing.
- to bite or chew on, especially persistently.
- to wear away or remove by persistent biting or nibbling.
- to form or make by so doing: to gnaw a hole through the wall.
- to waste or wear away; corrode; erode.
- to trouble or torment by constant annoyance, worry, etc.; vex; plague.
verb (used without object), gnawed, gnawed or gnawn, gnaw·ing.
- to bite or chew persistently: The spaniel gnawed happily on a bone.
- to cause corrosion: The acid gnaws at the metal.
- to cause an effect resembling corrosion: Her mistake gnawed at her conscience.
Origin of gnaw before 1000; Middle English gnawen, Old English gnagen; cognate with German nagen, Old Norse gnāga Related formsgnaw·a·ble, adjectivegnaw·er, nounout·gnaw, verb (used with object), out·gnawed, out·gnawed or out·gnawn, out·gnaw·ing.un·der·gnaw, verb (used with object)un·gnawed, adjective Related Words for gnawing peaked, barbed, pointed, piercing, keen, acuminate, jagged, fine, horned, honed, aciculate, acute, cuspate, cuspidate, lancinating, acuate, acuminous, apical, knife-edged Examples from the Web for gnawing Contemporary Examples of gnawing
You have taken to gnawing on dried pasta, the only thing left in your larder after days of gorging.
So You Are Enduring a Temporarily Paralyzing Winter Storm
Kelly Williams Brown
February 15, 2014
But the whole time they have a gnawing feeling in the back of their minds: Am I being a good parent by letting them do this?
Steve James and Christopher Nowinski Talk the New Doc ‘Head Games’
Kevin Fallon
September 22, 2012
Before I got fired I was gnawing at the edges of my expressiveness or my brazenness.
Adam Hanft
January 9, 2011
Historical Examples of gnawing
Deep in his heart was a gnawing of envy—not for himself, but for his work.
Mary Roberts Rinehart
They’ve been drifted away into one of the deepest holes there is, and the rats have been gnawing at ’em.
M. E. Braddon
He was looking down, and gnawing at that tremulous upper lip.
George MacDonald
It put a name to that gnawing, indefinite feeling she had been too intent to own.
Mary Hastings Bradley
Then came remembrance, and it was far worse than the fangs of pain that were gnawing him.
Desmond Winter Hall
British Dictionary definitions for gnawing gnaw verb gnaws, gnawing, gnawed, gnawed or gnawn (nɔːn)
- (when intr, often foll by at or upon) to bite (at) or chew (upon) constantly so as to wear away little by little
- (tr) to form by gnawingto gnaw a hole
- to cause erosion of (something)
- (when intr, often foll by at) to cause constant distress or anxiety (to)
noun
- the act or an instance of gnawing
Derived Formsgnawable, adjectivegnawer, noungnawing, adjective, noungnawingly, adverbWord Origin for gnaw Old English gnagan; related to Old Norse gnaga, Old High German gnagan Word Origin and History for gnawing gnaw v.
Old English gnagan (past tense *gnog, past participle gnagan) “to gnaw,” a common Germanic word (cf. Old Saxon gnagan, Old Norse, Swedish gnaga, Middle Dutch, Dutch knagen, Old High German gnagan, German nagen “to gnaw”), probably imitative of gnawing. Related: Gnawed; gnawing.