gnawing
Americannoun
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the act of a person or thing that gnaws.
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Usually gnawings. persistent, dull pains; pangs.
the gnawings of hunger.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gnawing
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at gnaw, -ing 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gnawing, almost unbearable heartbreak acts as the catalyst for a layered analysis of the ways humans — or, in the case of “The Sheep Detectives,” humans and their woolly friends — ache to forget.
From Salon • May 25, 2026
Gnawing loneliness, and missing family, was part of life for these pioneers, the so-called £3 generation.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2022
Gnawing on the bones requires very little work and offers great rewards for fried-fat aficionados.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 6, 2014
Gnawing at the Rocky spine of Wyoming and Colorado it writhes to the Gulf of California through flame-tinted canyons and dun gulches, forever arid.
From Time Magazine Archive
Gnawing on a carrot to still their hunger pangs, they walk from their cold houses through cold streets to an even colder classroom.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
