handwringing

or hand-wring·ing, hand wring·ing

[ hand-ring-ing ]

noun

1. a physical expression of concern, distress, or guilt.
2. the nervous grasping or squeezing of the hands as a sign of these feelings.

Other Words From

• handwringer noun

Example Sentences

With all the lugubrious handwringing over Biden and the Democrats saying Trump is a threat to democracy, nobody seems to care that his instinct in that horrible moment was to incite more violence.

From Salon

The meeting Thursday comes as the Biden campaign continues to grapple with reelecting a president who remains more unpopular than popular with voters, as well as polling that shows a tight contest with Donald Trump in several of the battleground state that are key to a Biden victory in November — factors that are prompting private consternation and handwringing from fellow Democrats.

From Seattle Times

Speaker Mike Johnson, the most powerful Republican in Congress, said after the attacks that "public handwringing and excessive signalling undercuts our ability to put a decisive end to the barrage of attacks endured over the past few months".

From BBC

In some quarters, the pace of change and the dangers of runaway AI, as seen in dystopian movies, have produced intense handwringing.

From Washington Times

If you’d like to diagnose a particularly acute case of Main-Character Syndrome as it pertains to the latest college-campus handwringing, might I suggest Bill Ackman?

From Slate