hand-wringing

noun

hand-wring·​ing ˈhand-ˌriŋ-iŋ How to pronounce hand-wringing (audio)
: an overwrought expression of concern or guilt
handwringer noun

Examples of hand-wringing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
While hand-wringing Democrats and the media have focused on President Biden, Donald Trump met with Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 18 July 2024 Please, no more contrived hand-wringing and pearl-clutching about the Trump dictatorship. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 4 July 2024 Since last Monday, when Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III had been diagnosed with cancer, the seventy-five-year-old monarch has been the subject of both hand-wringing concern and frenzied speculation. Anna Russell, The New Yorker, 12 Feb. 2024 Today, that hand-wringing delay has been nearly eliminated. Katie Palmer, STAT, 1 Dec. 2023 The combination of the new stadium, hand-wringing fans and — worst of all — disinterested indifference in the community has ripple effects beyond one locker room. Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Nov. 2023 Both episodes benefit from a curiosity about human nature that goes beyond hand-wringing monologues about our capacity for greed or complacency, and an affection for people in all our absurd and messy glory. Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Mar. 2023 For all the hand-wringing Kidd does about getting his team back together, Doncic has played in 57 of 69 games. Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas News, 14 Mar. 2023 The other involves hand-wringing and whining about their (purportedly) ruinous tax bills. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hand-wringing was in 1839

Dictionary Entries Near hand-wringing

Cite this Entry

“Hand-wringing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hand-wringing. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.

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