handwringing

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A form of hand wringing — The repeated clasping or squeezing of the hands as a symptom of distress.

Scrabble 21

Meanings

nounhandwringing (countable and uncountable, plural handwringings)

plural handwringings

  1. alternativecountableuncountableAlternative form of hand wringing.

    For a man raised since birth to be strong, resolute, spare with words, and never to bow to the weepings and handwringings of the weaker sex, he had poured out his heart in that letter.

    2013, Peter McAra, A World Apart, page 14
    1 more example

    Canada's decision to stand against an attempt by Cuba, China, Egypt and other egregious human rights violators to condemn Israel at a UN Human Rights Council meeting should be a matter of national pride, not national handwringing.

    2009 January 15, “UN vote provokes passion on both sides of the fence”, in Toronto Star
Cite this entry
APA

handwringing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handwringing

MLA

“handwringing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handwringing. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “handwringing,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handwringing.

Source: handwringing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.