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

You hear the gut-wrenching thud as your car hits an unavoidable pothole.

From BBC • Feb. 12, 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

She woke only to cough, a miserable gut-wrenching cough, as if she was trying to turn herself inside out.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson