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
Signs of greater regulatory scrutiny in the country's semiconductor sector also added to the hand-wringing.
—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
23 June 2026
Signs of greater regulatory scrutiny in the country's semiconductor sector also added to the hand-wringing.
—
ABC News,
22 June 2026
Just this spring, from hand-wringing about the state of the league to, today, a finals that has everyone excited to tune in.
—
Dan Shanoff,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
Normally, this time of year for Bay Area residents means blooms of orange poppies, graduation announcements and hand-wringing over the San Francisco Giants’ record.
—
Paul Rogers,
Mercury News,
26 May 2026
But this hand-wringing has led to little tangible reform.
—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
11 May 2026
And despite the offseason hand-wringing, baseball’s in a better spot than it’s been in decades.
—
Ian Miller Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
Perhaps because of their rarity, aviation incidents (or near accidents) tend to generate headlines and hand-wringing.
—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
4 May 2026
Publicly, without hand-wringing.
—
Kyle P. Edmonds,
STAT,
9 Apr. 2026
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
23 June 2026
Signs of greater regulatory scrutiny in the country's semiconductor sector also added to the hand-wringing.
—
ABC News,
22 June 2026
Just this spring, from hand-wringing about the state of the league to, today, a finals that has everyone excited to tune in.
—
Dan Shanoff,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
Normally, this time of year for Bay Area residents means blooms of orange poppies, graduation announcements and hand-wringing over the San Francisco Giants’ record.
—
Paul Rogers,
Mercury News,
26 May 2026
But this hand-wringing has led to little tangible reform.
—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
11 May 2026
And despite the offseason hand-wringing, baseball’s in a better spot than it’s been in decades.
—
Ian Miller Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
Perhaps because of their rarity, aviation incidents (or near accidents) tend to generate headlines and hand-wringing.
—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
4 May 2026
Publicly, without hand-wringing.
—
Kyle P. Edmonds,
STAT,
9 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hand-wringing
Noun
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Any worries about complacency were wiped away in the third minute when Auston Trusty fired home the opening goal and caused the stands at SoFi Stadium to shake (literally) with the noise and jumping fans.
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Reformation’s move toward the open market also signals that the time might be right — with Wall Street hitting all-time highs despite worries about inflation and AI — for fashion to jump in.
Noun
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Newsom has not said if the newer version of the bill quells this concern.
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Still, British politics could become a more pressing concern for the bond market with Burnham at the helm.
Noun
-
If that conversation also seems too anxiety-provoking, focus on modes of communication that do feel accessible to you.
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The resulting anxiety and panic are an unfortunate side effect of a banner year for fireworks shows.
Noun
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The resulting anxiety and panic are an unfortunate side effect of a banner year for fireworks shows.
-
Sandy has taken flight, but not without sending eagle-eyed viewers of the Friends of Big Bear Valley eagle nest cam into a Sunday-morning panic.
Noun
-
Their mother cried out in anguish.
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Meanwhile, hundreds remained missing, leading to a wave of anguish among relatives and friends.
Noun
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With the end of the month fast approaching, the migrant exodus has continued as fear of further mob attacks spreads through poor neighborhoods and informal settlements.
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Agents from Hawthorne to Manhattan Beach, Venice and Santa Monica report early inquiries on $5-million-plus properties, raising fears of speculative price spikes and even tighter inventory.
Noun
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May said the venue change helped ease some of the tension.
-
The dynamic Sun in your 3rd House of Communication quincunxes powerful Pluto in your 10th House of Career, creating tension between daily tasks and authority.
Noun
-
Tensions flared Saturday as desperation grew among anguished residents of the Venezuelan state of La Guaira, where rescuers and civilians searched for earthquake survivors amid a sharply rising death toll.
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But the show repeatedly undercuts that point of view by halfway reinforcing the age-old American assumption that crime is born of poor individual choices among an uncivilized populace, not of poverty, desperation, and preservation, both self and communal.
Cite this Entry
“Hand-wringing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hand-wringing. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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