eat away

ronger, tourmenter

Faire souffrir longtemps quelqu’un à cause d’une inquiétude ou d’un sentiment de culpabilité.

En anglais simple : To make someone feel worried or guilty for a long time.

• Guilt was eating away at him.
• That unanswered question has eaten away at me for years.
• Does regret still eat away at you?

Comment l'utiliser : eat away at someone (The secret was eating away at her.)

Synonymes : gnaw at, trouble, torment

Expressions courantes : eat away inside, eat away constantly

ronger, éroder

Abîmer progressivement une matière solide en faisant disparaître une partie de celle-ci.

En anglais simple : To slowly damage and remove part of a solid material.

• Rust ate away the metal.
• The waves are eating away at the beach.
• Much of the stone had been eaten away by rain.

Comment l'utiliser : eat away something (Acid can eat away the metal.); eat away at something (Waves ate away at the cliff.); be eaten away by something (The pipes were eaten away by rust.)

Synonymes : erode, corrode, wear away

Expressions courantes : eat away metal, eat away stone, eat away something

éroder, miner

Réduire ou détruire peu à peu quelque chose de précieux, comme la confiance ou les économies.

En anglais simple : To slowly reduce or destroy something valuable, such as trust, money, or confidence.

• Fees eat away our savings.
• Repeated lies ate away at their trust.
• Will rising costs eat away all our profits?

Comment l'utiliser : eat away at something (Constant arguments ate away at their friendship.); eat away something (Bank fees eat away our savings.)

Synonymes : erode, undermine, deplete

Expressions courantes : eat away confidence, eat away savings, eat away trust