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

But as I stood in the crowd of wedding guests, watching Arti and her new husband, Rohit, on a flower-bedecked platform, a doubt was already starting to gnaw at me.

From New York Times • Dec. 8, 2023

“But—I know and you know, dear Frank, that...the rats swarm back and begin to gnaw at the same old spot, the moment the dog’s back is turned.”

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson