as in to erode
to consume or wear away gradually
time has gnawed that author's reputation to the point where he rates little more than a footnote
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Recent Examples of gnaw
Their tough teeth also grow very quickly, and gnawing helps keep them sharp and filed down to a manageable length.
—
Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 12 Jan. 2026
Sybil bears a tremendous burden and gnawing guilt.
—Shruti Mutalik, Baltimore Sun, 7 Jan. 2026
From luxury produce selling for nearly $20 apiece to babies gnawing on rib-eye steaks, food and drink extremes in 2025 reflected American culture in unique ways.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 2 Jan. 2026
Doubt tears away at us like rats gnawing away under the floorboards in the house of being.
—Christian Wiman, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gnaw
Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 12 Jan. 2026
Sybil bears a tremendous burden and gnawing guilt.
—Shruti Mutalik, Baltimore Sun, 7 Jan. 2026
From luxury produce selling for nearly $20 apiece to babies gnawing on rib-eye steaks, food and drink extremes in 2025 reflected American culture in unique ways.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 2 Jan. 2026
Doubt tears away at us like rats gnawing away under the floorboards in the house of being.
—Christian Wiman, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gnaw
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gnaw
Verb
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Confidence erodes, even when results look strong.—
Melissa Houston,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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And there are signs that assumptions about men’s unwillingness to use such products are eroding.—
Ana Castelain,
Bloomberg,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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How to make even healthy eating affordable One way to make more expensive items like meat and seafood more affordable is to buy them in bulk.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
31 Jan. 2026
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On Thwaites itself, part of the team will try today to drop a fiber-optic cable through a 3,200-foot borehole in the ice, near the glacier’s grounding line, where the ocean is eating away at it from below.—
Christian Elliott,
The Atlantic,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gnaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gnaw. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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