Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

hand-wringing

British  

noun

  1. informal an extended debate over the correct course of action in a situation

"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

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.

The hand-wringing over AI and cognition is everywhere right now.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

“The ability to speak about all these new pipeline medicines really changes the story and hand-wringing about what’s going to happen with Keytruda’s LOE.”

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

Much of the hand-wringing about AI slop focuses on material that may be ubiquitous but innocuous.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025

It's at McLaren where the hand-wringing will be most intense.

From BBC • Nov. 30, 2025

Apart from that, there wasn’t a whole lot of hand-wringing inside FrontPoint.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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.