gut-wrenching

Definition

gut-wrenching
adjective
gut-wrench·;ing ;g;t-;ren-chi;
Synonyms of gut-wrenching
: causing mental or emotional anguish

Examples of gut-wrenching in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Our tear ducts definitely got a workout this year, as television offered up a bounty of gut-wrenching, sob-inducing moments.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 11 Dec. 2025
Hearing those words was gut-wrenching.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
This seems like an enormously difficult task to me, especially on top of what must be gut-wrenching grief.
—Nicole Russell, USA Today, 11 Dec. 2025
Particularly with Sunday’s gut-wrenching finish: a Williams interception in the final minute on a pass into the end zone to Kmet that was thrown much too late.
—The Athletic Staff, New York Times, 8 Dec. 2025

Word History
First Known Use
1972, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gut-wrenching was in 1972
See more words from the same year