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
And yet even with these quiet moments inflating the film’s scant 70-minute running time, there’s a gnawing scent of doom in the air, the sense that Ryan’s time in his home will be pivotal and tragic.
—
Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 12 Mar. 2025
To keep you on your toes, Max opens the film with a bang; following a trail of blood on what looks to be floor of a cave or crypt, the camera finds a frightening demonic creature gnawing away at a human body.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 9 Mar. 2025
Despite all of this, Musa felt a gnawing emptiness in his life.
—David Peisner, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2025
In a world where watches measure heart beats, rings score sleep patterns, and our days are reduced to data points, there’s a growing, almost-gnawing need to optimize every second.
—Jolene Edgar, Allure, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gnaw
Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 12 Mar. 2025
To keep you on your toes, Max opens the film with a bang; following a trail of blood on what looks to be floor of a cave or crypt, the camera finds a frightening demonic creature gnawing away at a human body.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 9 Mar. 2025
Despite all of this, Musa felt a gnawing emptiness in his life.
—David Peisner, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2025
In a world where watches measure heart beats, rings score sleep patterns, and our days are reduced to data points, there’s a growing, almost-gnawing need to optimize every second.
—Jolene Edgar, Allure, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gnaw
Cite this Entry
“Gnaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gnaw. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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