Gnaw
Contents
English
Verb
Gnaw (third-person singular simple present gnaws, present participle gnawing, simple past gnawed, past participle gnawed or gnawn)
- (transitive) To bite something persistently.
- Her teeth gnawed at me all night, keeping me twisting and turning from pain.
- We saw that the dog had been gnawing on the bone.
- (intransitive) To produce excessive anxiety or worry.
- Her comment gnawed at me all night, keeping me twisting and turning in bed.
Derived terms
Adverbs for Gnaw
hungrily; ravenously; furiously; madly; brutishly; bestially; vigorously; ferociously; famishedly.
Thesaurus
ablate, abrade, abrase, afflict, agonize, ail, annoy, badger, bark, bedevil, beleaguer, bite, bother, burn, canker, chafe, champ, chaw, chew, chew the cud, chew up, chomp, consume, convulse, corrode, crucify, crumble, cut, devour, distress, eat, eat away, eat into, erase, erode, excruciate, fester, file, fray, frazzle, fret, gall, give pain, gnash, gnaw away, grate, graze, grind, gripe, gum, harass, harrow, harry, haunt, hector, hurt, inflame, inflict pain, irk, irritate, kill by inches, lacerate, martyr, martyrize, masticate, mouth, mumble, munch, nag, nettle, nibble, nibble away, nip, oxidize, pain, peeve, pester, pierce, pinch, plague, prick, prolong the agony, put to torture, rack, rankle, rasp, raze, rub, rub away, rub off, rub out, ruminate, rust, scour, scrape, scrub, scuff, skin, stab, sting, tease, torment, torture, trouble, tweak, twist, vex, wear, wear away, wear down, worry, wound, wring
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɔː
