noun. The act of continued biting, consuming, or fretting.

adjective. severe or intense

verb. Present participle of gnaw.

noun. A sensation of being gnawed

"The eternal buttresses of the hills stand to the eyes of the fleeting generations as emblems of permanence, and yet winter storms and summer heats, and the slow processes of decay which we call the gnawing of time, are ever working upon them, and changing their forms, and at last they shall pass."

corrosive  distressing  

clawing  drawing  hawing  lawing  pawing  

ablative  abradant  abrasive  ache  aching  

gnaw