gut-wrenching

adjective

gut-wrench·​ing ˈgət-ˌren-chiŋ How to pronounce gut-wrenching (audio)
: causing mental or emotional anguish

Examples of gut-wrenching in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Instead of wrapping the series up after this gut-wrenching realization, The Eternaut ends on a massive cliffhanger. Caroline Blair, People.com, 6 May 2025 The film was partly inspired by Holofcener’s own life as the divorced mother of two teenagers, which lends it a particularly gut-wrenching kind of verisimilitude. Marley Marius, Vogue, 30 Apr. 2025 Image The most gut-wrenching images fueled an antiwar movement that considered the war unwinnable and unjust. The New York Times, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025 The Detroit Pistons just suffered a gut-wrenching Game 3 loss at the hands of the New York Knicks, putting them in a 1-2 hole for the series. Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gut-wrenching

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gut-wrenching was in 1972

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Cite this Entry

“Gut-wrenching.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gut-wrenching. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

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