gnawed; gnawing; gnaws
1
a
: to bite or chew on with the teeth
especially
: to wear away by persistent biting or nibbling
a dog gnawing a bone
b
: to make by gnawing
rats gnawed a hole
2
a
: to be a source of vexation to : plague
anxiety always gnawing him
b
: to affect like gnawing
hunger gnawing her vitals
1
: to bite or nibble persistently
gnawing at his underlip
2
: to produce an effect of or as if of gnawing
waves gnawing away at the cliffs
Examples of gnaw in a Sentence
The dog was gnawing a bone.
He nervously gnawed on his fingernails.
Rabbits have gnawed at the hedge.
Rabbits had gnawed a hole in the hedge.
Recent Examples on the Web
Research has even proposed that the ability to butcher meat may have caused early humans to evolve smaller teeth and jaws than their chimpanzee relatives, who could easily gnaw on tough foods.
—
Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 3 July 2025
His subject, Nandy told me, exhibited all the traits of an authoritarian personality: puritanical rigidity, a constricted emotional life, fear of his own passions, and an enormous ego that protected a gnawing insecurity.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Tabo’s mother’s gnawing sense of guilt is fully parsed and inhabited, even as the murderous compulsion of her son is left untouched.
—Katie Kitamura, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
For her part, Janney plays Macy with lots of warmth but also a gnawing sense of disappointment.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for gnaw
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Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 3 July 2025
His subject, Nandy told me, exhibited all the traits of an authoritarian personality: puritanical rigidity, a constricted emotional life, fear of his own passions, and an enormous ego that protected a gnawing insecurity.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Tabo’s mother’s gnawing sense of guilt is fully parsed and inhabited, even as the murderous compulsion of her son is left untouched.
—Katie Kitamura, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
For her part, Janney plays Macy with lots of warmth but also a gnawing sense of disappointment.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for gnaw
Cite this Entry
“Gnaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gnaw. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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