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
They munch, dig, and gnaw on everything from tender plant shoots, tree buds and fruits, garden vegetables, and bulbs.
—
Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2024
There is so much rugged poetry contained in this film, and yet the palpable, gnawing horror is what sees it through.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2024
Major blazes in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties are gnawing through sun-baked hillsides, threatening lives and properties and blanketing the region with noxious ash and smoke.
—Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2024
Subsurface chewing insects can be gnawing away at the roots of your lawn grasses leading to a quick collapse of green when the real heat moves in.
—Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 9 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gnaw 
Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2024
There is so much rugged poetry contained in this film, and yet the palpable, gnawing horror is what sees it through.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2024
Major blazes in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties are gnawing through sun-baked hillsides, threatening lives and properties and blanketing the region with noxious ash and smoke.
—Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2024
Subsurface chewing insects can be gnawing away at the roots of your lawn grasses leading to a quick collapse of green when the real heat moves in.
—Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 9 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gnaw
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Cite this Entry
“Gnaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gnaw. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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