Gnaw is an imperfective verb. The stress falls on the second syllable, the vowel "a". We will reveal the lexical meaning of this language unit and give examples of sentences, because in practice knowledge is acquired more efficiently.
Interpretation of the verb
The dictionary says that the verb "to gnaw" has the following interpretations.
- Scrape with teeth, gnaw. Imagine a dog chewing on a bone. He tries to finish off the meat, carefully nibbles the bone in the hope of getting enough of a small amount of tasty pulp. This is the direct meaning of the word "gnawing".
- Torment or torment, torment. This is a portable meaning. The same can be said about feelings. For example, you wrote a test paper. And now you have a feeling of anxiety. You worry about the assessment and think through the worst possible scenarios.
As you can see, the verb "to gnaw" can indicate both a concrete and tangible action, and a feeling of a person. Note that this verb can only be used figuratively in an artistic or colloquial style.
Sample sentences
Now we will give some examples of the use of the word "gnawing". We use this speech unit in different contexts.
- The dog began to greedily gnaw at the bone, on which there was almost no meat left.
- Hares gnaw bark in winter, as they have nothing else to feed on.
- Hunters found a deer carcass in the forest, which was gnawed by hungry wolves.
- I'm feeling anxious, I haven't been able to find a place for myself for hours now.
- The girl was gnawed by fear for her village, which was occupied by enemies.
- Melancholy gnaws at your soul, you miss your Motherland.
- My conscience constantly gnaws at me, it seems that I did wrong, not humanly.
We hope the meaning of the word "gnawing" will no longer be a mystery to you. Now you know what interpretations this language unit is endowed with, and you also know how to apply it in a variety of communicative situations.
