What does begnawed mean?
Begnawed is the past tense and past participle of the archaic verb begnaw, meaning to have gnawed or bitten away at something steadily and repeatedly. In its literal sense it describes physical erosion by teeth, as an animal begnawing a bone or a prisoner a rope. Far more often it appears figuratively: worry, guilt, remorse, or envy is said to begnaw at a person, eating away at the mind as relentlessly as teeth consume wood. The prefix be- adds a sense of thoroughness or persistence, so the word carries connotations of slow, inescapable destruction rather than sudden damage. Strongly associated with Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, where conscience torments characters in exactly these terms, it survives today only in deliberately literary prose. Writers who revive it do so for its visceral image of inner torment rendered as a physical act of devouring.
verb (past tense and past participle)Past tense and past participle of 'begnaw': to have gnawed or bitten away at something persistently, often figuratively of worry, guilt, or remorse consuming the mind.
- To have gnawed or bitten away at something persistently (literal use).
- Of worry, guilt, remorse, or envy: to have consumed or tormented someone's mind over time (figurative use).
"Doubt had begnawed at his confidence until he could no longer speak."
"The captive begnawed through the rope binding his wrists."
"Regret begnawed at her for years after the quarrel."
Before anxiety had a clinical name, English speakers said it simply begnawed you — like a rat at a rope.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of begnawed
Begnawed derives from the verb begnaw, formed in Middle English from the prefix be- plus gnaw, which comes from Old English gnagan, 'to gnaw.' The same Germanic root lies behind modern 'gnaw' and 'nag,' and is related to German nagen. The prefixed form arose in Middle English and flourished in early modern drama before fading into archaism.
Related word forms
How begnawed is actually used
Archaic and strongly literary in register; rarely heard in everyday modern speech. The verb is almost always used transitively ('begnawed at' or 'begnawed something'). Its natural habitat is older literature — Shakespearean-era drama and its imitators — where it vividly personifies conscience or appetite as a devouring creature. Modern writers reach for it chiefly for deliberate archaic flavor.
Easily confused with begnawed
'Begnawed' describes persistent gnawing or biting away (literal or mental), while 'bemoaned' means expressed grief or complaint about something.