1
as in bitter
causing intense discomfort to one's skin
a biting wind that only the toughest football fans were willing to endure
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sarcastic
marked by the use of wit that is intended to cause hurt feelings
the biting comments by the pundits about the government's inaction
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of biting
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
5 Jan. 2026
France and Spain, by contrast, have centrist or center-left governments and favored a harder line and more biting retaliatory tariffs.
—
Matthias Matthijs,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Dec. 2025
ABC News,
20 June 2026
Described as a biting political thriller in the tradition of Wild in the Streets and V for Vendetta, The Hunted is set in a dystopian America where trans people are brutalized and erased to the margins of society.
—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
20 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for biting
Adjective
Morbidly Jewish finds Raanan at his most biting, acerbic, angry, Jewish, and, as always…loud.
—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
5 Jan. 2026
France and Spain, by contrast, have centrist or center-left governments and favored a harder line and more biting retaliatory tariffs.
—
Matthias Matthijs,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Dec. 2025
Verb
But his austerity measures, most significantly the elimination of long-standing fuel subsidies, have exacerbated biting inflation.
—
ABC News,
20 June 2026
Described as a biting political thriller in the tradition of Wild in the Streets and V for Vendetta, The Hunted is set in a dystopian America where trans people are brutalized and erased to the margins of society.
—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
20 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for biting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for biting
Adjective
-
Looking for a silver lining Some analysts fear that the friction over the 250th celebrations, especially the national ones, may end up reinforcing the nation's bitter divide rather than providing a respite from it.
-
This inverts the usual analysis of American politics, that our bitter culture wars will always resolve down to questions like affordability.
Adjective
-
Conversely, Charles Johnson expressed irate objections, and Renato Moicano offered sarcastic remarks.
-
There’s the yellow, blue-nosed beaver Norb (Nick Bakay) — witty, sophisticated, sarcastic, and opinionated.
Verb
-
Two cherry pickers, with seven workers dressed in full blue protective gear, including ventilation masks, were wielding the kind of vacuum machines designed for asbestos management, sucking the nests from branches roughly 20 meters (65 feet) off the ground.
-
National Park Service workers in waders were sucking up the dead algae strewed along the bottom Wednesday.
Adjective
-
Davidson had leveled the same line of criticism against Conley in one of the primary race's few sharp clashes.
-
In sharp contrast, the UPEPA tracks the existing summary judgment standard which only looks to whether a minimum of evidence exists and does not require the court to decide issues of facts.
Adjective
-
The student was referencing a line from the 1974 satirical film Blazing Saddles, a movie co-written by Richard Pryor.
-
Early says that the movie takes much of its aesthetic and satirical cues from director Paul Verhoeven’s films Showgirls (1995) and Starship Troopers (1997).
Adjective
-
Jean-Philippe Mateta, named in France’s World Cup squad earlier this month, reacted superbly after Rayo keeper Augusto Batalla could only parry a stinging Wharton shot from the edge of the box.
-
Coming up short in the 2025 ISL boys lacrosse championship left a stinging sensation for Tabor Academy.
Adjective
-
Vines have grown through the fence and barbed wire surrounding a tall art deco building in this city’s downtown, and cigarette holders and empty food tins litter the tall weeds.
-
What happened to his barbed humanistic wit?
Adjective
-
One spring day in Paris many years ago, my wife, Diana, a most penetrating photographer, capable of seeing like no one else, decided, as an experiment, to walk across the city blindfolded.
-
Since the war began in Gaza, more than six months ago, the Israeli magazine +972 has published some of the most penetrating reporting on the Israel Defense Forces’ conduct.
Cite this Entry
“Biting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/biting. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
