Home › Words › B › begnawbegnaw/bɪˈnɔː/begnaw means to gnaw; to eat away at.begnaw is pronounced /bɪˈnɔː/.EtymologyFrom Middle English *begnawen, from Old English begnagan (“to begnaw, gnaw all over”), equivalent to be- + gnaw.verbTo gnaw; to eat away at.e.g.“The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul.” — c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).Words closest in meaningBy meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.forgnaw 78% match — To gnaw in pieces; eat up. vs begnaw →gnag 77% match — To gnaw; nibble; bite at (something) vs begnaw →gnabble 67% match — To nibble. vs begnaw →gnawing 63% match — severe or intense vs begnaw →gnasting 63% match — Gnashing. vs begnaw →corrade 63% match — To gnaw into; to wear away vs begnaw →gnawingly 63% match — In a manner that chafes or worries. vs begnaw →beclaw 61% match — To scratch or tear all over with claws or nails. vs begnaw →