Hand- wringing
Phrase: hand-wringing (noun)
Associations
"Hand-wringing" means showing worry or nervousness, often by twisting or squeezing your hands together. It is used to describe a person who is anxious or upset, sometimes without taking action to solve a problem.
- Example 1: The manager’s hand-wringing over the budget delay didn’t help the team. (Shows worry but no solution.)
- Example 2: Instead of hand-wringing about the problem, let’s find a way to fix it. (Encourages action over worry.)
- Example 3: The politician’s speech was full of hand-wringing about the economy. (Expresses concern or distress.)
Synonym: "Worry" or "anxiety"
- Difference: "Hand-wringing" often shows visible or physical signs of worry, and sometimes suggests excessive or unproductive worry. "Worry" is more general and can be silent or internal.
Substitution
You can say:
- worrying
- fretting
- stressing out
- being anxious These words are similar but may not show the physical action of twisting hands.
Deconstruction
- "Hand" means the body part.
- "Wringing" comes from the verb "to wring," which means to twist or squeeze tightly. Together, "hand-wringing" literally means twisting your hands in worry or nervousness.
Inquiry
- Have you ever seen someone wringing their hands? What do you think they were feeling?
- Can you think of a time when hand-wringing was not helpful? What could have been done instead?
- How does the physical action of wringing hands show emotions better than just saying "I am worried"?
Model: gpt-4.1-mini