 4 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
gnaw
verb
1: bite or chew on with the teeth; "gnaw an old cracker";
"chewed on a cookie"
2: become ground down or deteriorate; "Her confidence eroded"
[syn: {erode}, {gnaw at}, {eat at}, {wear away}]
[also: {gnawn}]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Gnaw \Gnaw\, verb (used without an object)
To use the teeth in biting; to bite with repeated effort, as
in eating or removing with the teeth something hard,
unwieldy, or unmanageable.
I might well, like the spaniel, gnaw upon the chain
that ties me. --Sir P.
Sidney.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Gnaw \Gnaw\ (n[add]), verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Gnawed} (n[add]d); p.
pr. & vb. n. {Gnawing}.] [OE. gnawen, AS. gnagan; akin to D.
knagen, OHG. gnagan, nagan, G. nagen, Icel. & Sw. gnaga, Dan.
gnave, nage. Cf. {Nag} to tease.]
1. To bite, as something hard or tough, which is not readily
separated or crushed; to bite off little by little, with
effort; to wear or eat away by scraping or continuous
biting with the teeth; to nibble at.
His bones clean picked; his very bones they gnaw.
--Dryden.
2. To bite in agony or rage.
They gnawed their tongues for pain. --Rev. xvi.
10.
3. To corrode; to fret away; to waste.
4. To trouble in a constant manner; to plague; to worry; to
vex; -- usually used with at; as, his mounting debts
gnawed at him.
[PJC]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
113 Moby Thesaurus words for "gnaw":
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
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