GNAWN

GNAW

erode, gnaw, gnaw at, eat at, wear away

(verb) become ground down or deteriorate; “Her confidence eroded”

gnaw

(verb) bite or chew on with the teeth; “gnaw an old cracker”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Verb

gnawn

(archaic) past participle of gnaw

Synonyms

• gnawed

Source: Wiktionary

GNAW

Gnaw, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gnawed; p. pr. & vb. n. Gnawing.] Etym: [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.

Gnaw, v. i.

Definition: To use the teeth in biting; to bite with repeated effort, as in eating or removing with the teethsomething hard, unwiedly, or unmanageable. I might well, like the spaniel, gnaw upon the chain that ties me. Sir P. Sidney.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition