From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgnaw (away) at somebody/something phrasal verbFRIGHTENEDWORRIEDto make someone feel worried or frightened, over a period of time Something was gnawing at the back of his mind. Doubt was gnawing away at her confidence. → gnaw→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
gnaw (away) at • A guilty pain began gnawing at her chest.• Deep in the interstices of daily life, no doubt, frustrations gnawed at him and resentments festered.• The lack of answers gnaws at me.• The reality of reengineering has begun to gnaw away at those who had earnestly embraced this newest form of management self-improvement. 