gnawing

[ naw-ing ]

/ ˈnɔ ɪŋ /

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.

Nearby words

gnathostoma, gnathostome, gnathostomiasis, gnatty, gnaw, gnawing, gnawingly, gnawn, gnc, gneiss, gneissoid

Origin of gnawing

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at gnaw, -ing¹

Related formsgnaw·ing·ly, adverb

Definition for gnawing (2 of 2)

gnaw

[ naw ]

/ nɔ /

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 forms

gnaw·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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
Before I got fired I was gnawing at the edges of my expressiveness or my brazenness.
Rick Sanchez Licks His Wounds|Adam Hanft|January 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
But to-night it had an almost startling appropriateness, breaking in as if in direct response to her gnawing hunger of the heart.
A Spirit in Prison|Robert Hichens

The old man looked very haggard, for his internal wolf was gnawing.
Lady Maude's Mania|George Manville Fenn
There was a gnawing dread in his mind that they might be lodged in a fissure of an unscalable cliff.
His Unknown Wife|Louis Tracy
But Can you allay a gnawing conscience, Or bind up bleeding reputation?
Pastoral Poetry and Pastoral Drama|Walter W. Greg
A gnawing rat might have made something like the noise of the drill biting its way.
Slippy McGee, Sometimes Known as the Butterfly Man|Marie Conway Oemler

British Dictionary definitions for gnawing

gnaw

/ (nɔː) /

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, adverb

Word Origin for gnaw

Old English gnagan; related to Old Norse gnaga, Old High German gnagan

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

gnawing

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of gnawing

Definition for gnawing (2 of 2)

gnaw

verb (used with object), gnawed, gnawed or gnawn, gnaw·ing.

verb (used without object), gnawed, gnawed or gnawn, gnaw·ing.

Origin of gnaw

Examples from the Web for gnawing

British Dictionary definitions for gnawing

gnaw

verb gnaws, gnawing, gnawed, gnawed or gnawn (nɔːn)

noun

Word Origin for gnaw