gnaw at

Verb

Meaning

become ground down or deteriorate

Source: WordNet

Synonyms

gnaw eroded erode eroding wear away pick at pick over peck at eat at

Antonyms

wolf cram guzzle murder stuff devour
Show all antonyms

Hypernyms

decay crumble dilapidate

Examples

Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still. Henry David Thoreau

Afterwards I learned, that the best way to manage some kinds of painful thoughts, is to dare them to do their worst; to let them lie and gnaw at your heart till they are tired; and you find you still have a residue of life they cannot kill. George MacDonald

I had nixed the idea of having children when I was myself a child, having learned in the 1960s that human overpopulation was literally crowding other species off the planet. Why create another mouth to gnaw at the overburdened earth? Sy Montgomery

Her confidence eroded Source: Internet

Close letter words and terms

gnatwren gnaw gnaw apart gnaw away at gnaw off gnaw round