as in worry
disapproving
worried talk or behavior
There has been a lot of silly hand-wringing over the latest hike in interest rates.
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Recent Examples of hand-wringing
While workers are hand-wringing at the prospect of an algorithm taking their job, bosses are reassuring workers that AI is just like any other technological revolution.
—
Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2025
This has caused the usual hand-wringing about competitive imbalance and the inherent plight of small-market teams.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2025
The annual hand-wringing around whether New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone should be fired is already under way, but that won’t be decided for weeks as the club’s management takes a breath and grieves the club’s latest playoff exit.
—Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 12 Oct. 2025
Once more, violent video games will be summoned for a brief moment of soul-searching and hand-wringing by political leaders representing constituents desperate to find a simple solution to our nation’s complex troubles.
—Time, 8 Oct. 2025
Leavy catalogs this wistfulness not in the spirit of hand-wringing, but more as an earnest problem solver.
—Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2025
On Hacks, the end of Deborah’s and Ava’s late night dreams made for dramatic reckoning, but our heroes eschewed hand-wringing.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 23 Sep. 2025
Despite industry-wide hand-wringing over the rise of streaming, watching a movie at home and seeing a movie in the theater are not mutually exclusive experiences.
—Vulture, 18 Sep. 2025
The current round of liberal hand-wringing about how conservatives have become far better at driving the political conversation stems in large part from Kirk.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2025
This has caused the usual hand-wringing about competitive imbalance and the inherent plight of small-market teams.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2025
The annual hand-wringing around whether New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone should be fired is already under way, but that won’t be decided for weeks as the club’s management takes a breath and grieves the club’s latest playoff exit.
—Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 12 Oct. 2025
Once more, violent video games will be summoned for a brief moment of soul-searching and hand-wringing by political leaders representing constituents desperate to find a simple solution to our nation’s complex troubles.
—Time, 8 Oct. 2025
Leavy catalogs this wistfulness not in the spirit of hand-wringing, but more as an earnest problem solver.
—Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2025
On Hacks, the end of Deborah’s and Ava’s late night dreams made for dramatic reckoning, but our heroes eschewed hand-wringing.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 23 Sep. 2025
Despite industry-wide hand-wringing over the rise of streaming, watching a movie at home and seeing a movie in the theater are not mutually exclusive experiences.
—Vulture, 18 Sep. 2025
The current round of liberal hand-wringing about how conservatives have become far better at driving the political conversation stems in large part from Kirk.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hand-wringing
Noun
-
Executives and industry watchers say the sector has fared better than expected, but there are now growing worries around the health of consumers and suppliers, CNBC’s Michael Wayland reports.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
20 Oct. 2025
-
As the days without their parents pass, their worries grow.—
Maria Santana,
CNN Money,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In 2024, the European Union opted to not renew its approval for Sulfuryl Fluoride citing concerns over risks to human health and the environment.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Duan says this practice is increasingly prevalent within China’s CAE industry, partly to allay clients’ concerns about data security.—
Ni Tao,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
But last week saw an observable upwelling of anxiety, reflecting a break of the preceding low-volatility climb and some possible pent-up selling from historically elevated equity allocations.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
18 Oct. 2025
-
That anxiety is reflected in the polling.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The panic began when a pilot reportedly heard knocking on the cockpit door and was unable to contact his crew.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
-
None of the panic, none of the prophetism.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
It's been a consistently reliable genre in the decades since, pairing mental anguish and unreliable perspectives with nightmarish imagery and terrors that lie just beyond our perceptions.—
Steven Thrash,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Through his music, Carrillo transforms personal anguish into empowering anthems, elevating moments of silence into rich, melodic soundscapes and celebrating the beauty of struggle itself.—
Jessica Roiz,
Billboard,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Last week, the VIX—Wall Street’s fear gauge—spiked to its highest level since April before easing, amid new trade policy uncertainties.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Amazon Web Services suffers widespread outage MAJOR HEADLINES BAYOU MYSTERY – Democrat mayor's 'gaslighting' amid serial killer fears called out by grieving family.—
,
FOXNews.com,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Although there may be some lingering tension between Turning Point and the Wisconsin GOP, resistance to the group is diminishing, party officials said.—
Steven Martinez,
jsonline.com,
21 Oct. 2025
-
As Robbie's actions target stash houses run by the notorious Dark Hearts motorcycle gang, a deadly turf war erupts, escalating tensions in the city and drawing both law enforcement and criminal factions into a high-stakes battle over control, survival and justice.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Facing fourth-and-4 at its 49-yard line, Grunkemeyer faced an all-out blitz and his desperation pass fell incomplete.—
Scott Dochterman,
New York Times,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Seminoles backup Kevin Sparry, a true freshman, completed a desperation 53-yard pass to Micahi Danzy to the Stanford 9 with two seconds left, and then the Cardinal were called for pass interference in the end zone on the next play, setting FSU up at the 2 for an untimed down.—
Harold Gutmann,
Mercury News,
19 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hand-wringing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hand-wringing. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
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