gnash
verb (used with object)
to grind or strike (the teeth) together, especially in rage or pain.
have gnashed
-
present perfectof gnash.present perfect
Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
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.
When the news of Lionel Verner's succession fell upon Roy, the bailiff, he could have gnashed his teeth in very vexation.
From Verner's Pride by Mrs. Henry Wood
"The situation, Hopkins, was absolutely terrible, and if I had had my teeth I should have gnashed them for the very helplessness of my condition."
From Toppleton's Client or, A Spirit in Exile by John Kendrick Bangs
It was a wonderful sight, and I could have gnashed my teeth to see those loads of munitions going snugly off to the enemy.
From Greenmantle by John Buchan
The old witch must have gnashed her teeth in rage as, peeping through his windows, she saw her spell broken.
From The House of Toys by Henry Russell Miller
My solitude is solitude no more,130 But peopled with the Furies;—I have gnashed My teeth in darkness till returning morn, Then cursed myself till sunset;—I have prayed For madness as a blessing—'tis denied me.
From The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 4 by Ernest Hartley Coleridge
