gnawing

[ naw-ing ]

/ ˈnɔ ɪŋ /

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noun

the act of a person or thing that gnaws.

Usually gnawings. persistent, dull pains; pangs: the gnawings of hunger.

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

Origin of gnawing

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

gnaw·ing·ly, adverb

Judging by the rhetoric coming out of the Kremlin, however, it has fed Russia’s delusions of persecution and given Putin a gnawing appetite for revenge.
Putin Still Holds the Cards When It Comes to Global Energy|Suriya Jayanti|June 18, 2022|Time
That somewhere out there is a place where an individual, a people, even an entire nation might assuage its spiritual gnawing, its hunger for more.
‘The Oregon Trail’ Isn’t Just a Game. It’s an American Legacy.|klindsey|December 9, 2021|Outside Online
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

Laila lifted her foot above one of the air gnawing skulls and brought it down with a guttural grunt.
The Extinction Parade: An Original Zombie Story by Max Brooks|Max Brooks|January 14, 2011|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
On his way back, he noticed there were two others in the backroom, a couple of men gnawing on pretzels over beers.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
Home, where nothing comes to distract me from my gnawing griefs and almost intolerable thoughts.
The Circular Study|Anna Katharine Green
The poor Pompon, exceedingly perplexed, tugged at his beard, thoughtfully gnawing wisps of it.
The Nabob|Alphonse Daudet
Such a town as that has to be always moving back, and back, and back, because the river's always gnawing at it.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Complete|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
With all fed, there was silence save for gnawing teeth breaking through the hard crusts.
Tiger Cat|David H. Keller