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View synonyms for

gnaw

[ naw ]

verb (used with object)

gnawed, gnawed or gnawn, gnawing.
  1. to bite or chew on, especially persistently.
  2. to wear away or remove by persistent biting or nibbling.
  3. to form or make by so doing:

    to gnaw a hole through the wall.

  4. to waste or wear away; corrode; erode.
  5. to trouble or torment by constant annoyance, worry, etc.; vex; plague.


verb (used without object)

gnawed, gnawed or gnawn, gnawing.
  1. to bite or chew persistently:

    The spaniel gnawed happily on a bone.

  2. to cause corrosion:

    The acid gnaws at the metal.

  3. to cause an effect resembling corrosion:

    Her mistake gnawed at her conscience.

gnaw

/ ɔː /

verb

  1. whenintr, often foll by at or upon to bite (at) or chew (upon) constantly so as to wear away little by little
  2. tr to form by gnawing

    to gnaw a hole

  3. to cause erosion of (something)
  4. whenintr, often foll by at to cause constant distress or anxiety (to)
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the act or an instance of gnawing
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈԲɱ, noun
  • ˈԲɾԲ, adjectivenoun
  • ˈԲɾԲly, adverb
  • ˈԲɲ, adjective
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Other yvlog Forms

  • Բa· adjective
  • Բİ noun
  • dzܳgԲ verb (used with object) outgnawed outgnawed or outgnawn outgnawing
  • ܲd·Բ verb (used with object)
  • ܲ·Բɱ adjective
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of gnaw1

before 1000; Middle English gnawen, Old English gnagen; cognate with German nagen, Old Norse
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of gnaw1

Old English gnagan; related to Old Norse gnaga, Old High German gnagan
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Another part of you frantically tries to embalm the memories, fearing the natural deterioration and gnawing terror of time.

From

A truly insidious horror film might have found a way to use bloody humor as a nervous grace note to offset what’s tangibly distressing about our gnawing powerlessness.

From

One man gnaws at a fleshless bone, clearly desperate for food.

From

Even as it gnaws out its own innards, the United States of America remains the greatest economic and military power in world history, and its collapse will touch literally everyone in the world.

From

What Haneul remembers most about his time in the North Korean military is the gnawing, continuous hunger.

From

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