gut-wrenching

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.

There has been a dramatic and stunning extra-time defeat thanks to Karim Benzema in the 2019-20 semis, and a gut-wrenching loss on penalties after a cagey match at the Etihad in the 2023-24 last eight.

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026

It’s not “Up”-level gut-wrenching, but the scenes establishing the heartbroken boy’s lingering trauma hit pretty hard.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

That hasn’t happened since World War II. It took a famously gut-wrenching recession to wring out the last bout of high inflation from the economy in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 14, 2026

Nikola Jokic suffered a "gut-wrenching" knee injury as the Denver Nuggets crashed to a 147-123 defeat to the Miami Heat on Monday.

From Barron's • Dec. 30, 2025

It had been five years since Scruggs had served as a mortarman in Vietnam, but he felt an immediate, gut-wrenching fear for the South Vietnamese soldiers he’d fought alongside.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge