gnaw at

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

What’s missing, and might well gnaw at a viewer, is whether regenerative farming can feed the world.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026

Then, unprompted, Kravchenko started to talk about his own future, a subject that must gnaw at so many minds after months spent in constant danger.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2024

Only this time, instead of letting the anxiety gnaw at her confidence, she accepted its presence, took a deep breath, and put on the kind of show that is hers and hers alone.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 22, 2023

This pseudothumb comes in handy — pandas need a tight grasp as they gnaw at rigid bamboo.

From New York Times • Jun. 30, 2022

Siddhartha thought yearningly and bitterly about his son, nursed his love and feeling of tenderness for him, let the pain gnaw at him, underwent all the follies of love.

From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse