Gnash

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Gnash

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

verb and noun

Pronunciation

nash  /naʃ/

Definition

As a verb: to grind or strike the teeth together, especially in pain, anger, or frustration; to bite or chew with a grinding motion. As a noun: an act of grinding the teeth.

Plain meaning

To gnash means to grind your teeth together — usually from anger, pain, or frustration. Gnashing one's teeth is the physical expression of intense, barely contained emotion.

Register

Vivid and somewhat literary or biblical. The gnashing of teeth in everyday language carries hyperbolic force — when someone says they were gnashing their teeth, they mean they were extremely frustrated. Common in journalistic writing about frustrated individuals or groups.