gnaw at
gnaw at — phrasal verb
- gnaw atbase form
- gnaws at3rd person singular
- gnawing at-ing form
- gnawed atpast simple
1. to keep making someone feel worried, guilty, afraid, or uncomfortable because th
to keep making someone feel worried, guilty, afraid, or uncomfortable because they cannot stop thinking about it
A small doubt gnawed at her during the whole meeting.
gnawed at her
The unanswered message began to gnaw at him late that night.
gnaw at him
Guilt over the broken promise had been gnawing at Mateo for weeks.
Even after the project ended, the mistake kept gnawing at her mind.
- reassure
to make someone feel less worried
- set someone's mind at rest
to remove someone's worry
文法句型
something gnaws at someone
something gnaws at someone's mind
be gnawed at by something
用法筆記
'Gnaw at' suggests a worry or uncomfortable feeling that works slowly and persistently, not a sudden brief fear.
常見錯誤
Use the worry or feeling as the subject: 'The problem gnawed at him', not usually 'He gnawed at the problem' in this figurative sense.
Do not confuse this figurative phrase with the literal verb 'gnaw', which means to bite something repeatedly.