as in gruesome
informal
causing great mental or emotional pain
gut-wrenching decisions the novel's gut-wrenching opening scene
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Recent Examples of gut-wrenching
The company announced several years of delays in constructing its first large-scale commercial plant, leading to a gut-wrenching fall in share price over just a few harrowing trading sessions.
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Erik Kobayashi-Solomon, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
The Bears suffered another gut-wrenching loss in Week 11, losing to Green Bay at Soldier Field when Cairo Santos’ 46-yard field-goal attempt as time expired got blocked.
—Andrew Seligman and Rob Maaddi, Los Angeles Times, 29 Nov. 2024
Each helicopter in the distance, each blood-curdling howl, each suspenseful dose of dissonance serves to intensify the film’s mental burden, creating a gut-wrenching abyss of mounting despair that nods to the era, 1978, when Chile was floundering under the hushed state violence of Augusto Pinochet.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 22 Nov. 2024
Hart’s brush against Coby White’s afro on a desperate three-point attempt sent White to the line for three free throws, handing the Knicks a gut-wrenching one-point loss.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 19 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gut-wrenching 
Erik Kobayashi-Solomon, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
The Bears suffered another gut-wrenching loss in Week 11, losing to Green Bay at Soldier Field when Cairo Santos’ 46-yard field-goal attempt as time expired got blocked.
—Andrew Seligman and Rob Maaddi, Los Angeles Times, 29 Nov. 2024
Each helicopter in the distance, each blood-curdling howl, each suspenseful dose of dissonance serves to intensify the film’s mental burden, creating a gut-wrenching abyss of mounting despair that nods to the era, 1978, when Chile was floundering under the hushed state violence of Augusto Pinochet.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 22 Nov. 2024
Hart’s brush against Coby White’s afro on a desperate three-point attempt sent White to the line for three free throws, handing the Knicks a gut-wrenching one-point loss.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 19 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gut-wrenching
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gut-wrenching
Adjective
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Prehistoric Rock Art Sites Created 'Multisensory Experience' For Hunter-Gatherers By Aristos Georgiou Science and Health Reporter 0 A collection of prehistoric human remains has revealed gruesome insights into a brutal massacre that took place more than 4,000 years ago.Raja Krishnamoorthi, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024
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Police think the gruesome gunshot death is suicide.Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 16 Dec. 2024
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Former detainees at the horrific Saydnaya prison near Damascus said Amer had disappeared in mid-April 2015 after being tortured there.Raja Razek, CNN, 16 Dec. 2024
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Eric Gordon was also supposed to provide some secondary ball-handling off the bench in theory, but the soon-to-be 36-year-old is off to a horrific start this season.Bryan Toporek, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
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To the east of Guadalupe, the Canton de Marie-Galante is an authentic island with beautiful beaches, delightful restaurants, wildland hikes, and some really terrific rum distilleries.Kathleen Turner, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
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The endlessly charming ensemble has really jelled together and bonded with the material, making for terrific chemistry and energy.Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 12 Dec. 2024
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The most shocking moment comes when Contessa accuses Dr. Damon of infidelity and fathering mixed-race children—a claim the other ladies quickly shut down.Shelby Stewart, Essence, 23 Dec. 2024
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On a recent trip to Miami for Art Basel, my fitness tracker clocked over 20,000 steps (a shocking 11 miles in one day).Kelsey Glennon, Travel + Leisure, 22 Dec. 2024
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Three years later, Dex's death deals a major blow to several key characters on the long-running soap, potentially introduces a terrifying new killer, and leaves behind plenty of questions as to how the series will proceed without him.Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 13 Dec. 2024
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In the early hours of New Year's Day 2021 in Canton, Georgia, Morgan Metzer was awakened to a terrifying sight.Michael Loftus, CBS News, 13 Dec. 2024
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Today many companies face the formidable challenge of balancing rapid product delivery with uncompromising quality.Wayne Yu, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
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From his playing days, Posey remembers his Giants won with great starting pitching and a formidable bullpen juggled well by manager Bruce Bochy.Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 22 Dec. 2024
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Or maybe the next gen of AI swerves us even deeper into the uncanny valley in yet unknown and frightening ways.Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, 18 Dec. 2024
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In the dark winter months, Krampus associations in villages hold parades, playfully frightening onlookers on Krampusnacht by chasing them and hitting them with sticks during a run through the streets.Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2024
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That would be a terrible mistake, the Fienberg brothers argued in a Dec. 17 letter that addressed only Bowers’s federal death sentence.David Mark, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 22 Dec. 2024
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People talk about the terrible twos, but she’s found her foothold in that kind of behavior, and there’s just no reasoning with her.Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 21 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near gut-wrenching
Cite this Entry
“Gut-wrenching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gut-wrenching. Accessed 27 Dec. 2024.
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