gut-wrenching

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It’s not “Up”-level gut-wrenching, but the scenes establishing the heartbroken boy’s lingering trauma hit pretty hard.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

That hasn’t happened since World War II. It took a famously gut-wrenching recession to wring out the last bout of high inflation from the economy in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 14, 2026

Amy Madigan’s gut-wrenching turn in “Weapons” as the despicable, bewigged witch Aunt Gladys became impossible for the Academy to ignore, largely thanks to the amount of hype surrounding Madigan’s character.

From Salon • Jan. 23, 2026

Nikola Jokic suffered a "gut-wrenching" knee injury as the Denver Nuggets crashed to a 147-123 defeat to the Miami Heat on Monday.

From Barron's • Dec. 30, 2025

It had been five years since Scruggs had served as a mortarman in Vietnam, but he felt an immediate, gut-wrenching fear for the South Vietnamese soldiers he’d fought alongside.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge