1
as in syringe
a slender hollow instrument by which material is put into or taken from the body through the skin
the nurse inserted the needle into his vein and collected some blood for testing
Synonyms & Similar Words
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1
as in to tease
to attack repeatedly with mean put-downs or insults
we needled him mercilessly for thinking that he had any chance of being the prom date for the school's most popular girl
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to dog
to subject (someone) to constant scoldings and sharp reminders
quit needling me! I'll take out the trash in a minute!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of needle
Harman Dayal, New York Times, 11 July 2025
And of course, my watch lit up right after the needle, just when the dentist walked away to let the numbing kick in.
—Denise Snodell, Kansas City Star, 9 July 2025
Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 6 June 2025
Not all of her tips and tricks to staying fabulous involve undergoing a knife or needle though.
—Michelle Lee, People.com, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for needle
Noun
The Canucks only had about $12 million in cap space and was earmarking that room for a player or two who could move the needle more than Boeser and Suter, the club’s two marquee UFAs.
GM Patrik Allvin’s decision to eventually circle back on Boeser was smart.
—Harman Dayal, New York Times, 11 July 2025
And of course, my watch lit up right after the needle, just when the dentist walked away to let the numbing kick in.
—Denise Snodell, Kansas City Star, 9 July 2025
Verb
Notably, Musk swept up Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson in addition to Trump, needling them over their past debt concerns.
—Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 6 June 2025
Not all of her tips and tricks to staying fabulous involve undergoing a knife or needle though.
—Michelle Lee, People.com, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for needle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for needle
Noun
-
Photos show the tiny kitten drinking milk from a syringe and resting on plush blankets.—
Brooke Baitinger,
Sacbee.com,
15 May 2025
-
Two were arrested in Metz when one was caught with a syringe and a woman who reported being stabbed recognized the second man.—
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
24 June 2025
Noun
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But Burke, with the mining association, pointed to two recent positive indicators for the industry: more U.S. coal getting exported overseas and a surge in the amount of electricity generated by burning coal during the first four months of 2025 compared with the same period last year.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
8 July 2025
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Mellinger now worries the department will not be able to meet its five-year goals for key performance indicators, which measure progress on the county’s biggest public health challenges.—
Marissa Meador,
IndyStar,
7 July 2025
Verb
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After teasing a trek earlier this week, Paul McCartney has revealed that his Got Back Tour will return to North America this fall, the Beatles legend’s first tour stateside in four years.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
10 July 2025
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Since last year, Justin Bieber has been teasing the launch of his new fashion brand, Skylrk.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
10 July 2025
Verb
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Netanyahu's outwardly triumphant visit to the White House, his third this year, is dogged by Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza and questions over how hard Trump will push for an end to the conflict.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
8 July 2025
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But the question of the Tour dogged his entire career.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
8 July 2025
Noun
-
Stock indexes in Europe ended mostly higher on Monday, while Asian markets closed mostly lower.—
Anne Marie D. Lee,
CBS News,
7 July 2025
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However, that compares to both Germany's DAX index and Hong Kon's Hang Seng Index, which are up nearly 20% this year as of the end of last week.—
Rafael Nam,
NPR,
7 July 2025
Verb
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For the last 15 years, Chicago’s drill rap scene has often led to fatal gun violence as rival artists trade insults and threats through their lyrics and social media taunts.—
Caroline Kubzansky,
Chicago Tribune,
3 July 2025
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Both organizations claimed Hinton taunted deputies at his arraignment.—
Erin Glynn,
The Enquirer,
3 July 2025
Noun
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Multiple investigations show that for years, Kerr County officials hemmed and hawed about the need to create a better warning system employing radar, gauges and sirens as well as cellphone networks.—
Zeynep Tufekci,
Mercury News,
10 July 2025
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Comparatively, Morningstar’s U.S. stock market gauge rose by only around 7%, placing it further down the list in terms of its performance year-to-date.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
8 July 2025
Verb
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Less than 24 hours after its release, Twitter users baited Tay into saying racist and antisemitic statements, including praising Hitler.—
Lisa Hagen,
NPR,
9 July 2025
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The messages were nothing out of the ordinary in this case, a simple tax refund scam baiting the reader to click on a link.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Needle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/needle. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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