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
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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
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Recent Examples of biting
Matthias Matthijs, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2025
The non-biting midge resembles a rice grain and survives in damp moss and algae along the Antarctic Peninsula.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 Dec. 2025
Madison Chapman, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026
Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua has been accused of biting a woman, and then making antisemitic comments on New Years Eve, according to reports.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for biting
Adjective
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
The non-biting midge resembles a rice grain and survives in damp moss and algae along the Antarctic Peninsula.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 Dec. 2025
Verb
Watch out for fast-moving afternoon thunderstorms in July and August, and before mid-August, bring gear to deter mosquitoes and biting flies.
—Madison Chapman, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026
Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua has been accused of biting a woman, and then making antisemitic comments on New Years Eve, according to reports.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for biting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for biting
Adjective
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Lang plays the antagonist, a bitter Alpine waiter whose family recipe for Grappa involves alchemy and witchcraft.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
23 Mar. 2026
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It's been three months since a ceasefire ended bitter border fighting between Cambodia and Thailand, but signs of combat are cut deep in this 11th-century temple atop a 525-meter (1,722-foot) cliff in the Dangrek Mountain range.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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James then scrunched his face into a sarcastic, close-eyed smile.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Mar. 2026
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Brendon was a fan favorite among the cast for his loyalty to his friends and sarcastic sense of humor.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But sucking at vanilla here is like taking popcorn to a cinema without a projectionist or waiting for a lover who has long since left you.—
Rob Crossan,
Condé Nast Traveler,
24 Mar. 2026
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The Gators can have that effect, simply sucking the will out of opponents with two, three, four shots in a possession, but the making of this machine is significantly more complex.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
22 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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City-level data show sharper declines from certain European hubs.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
23 Mar. 2026
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Poverty has fallen too, despite Milei’s sharp cut to subsidies that sparked mass protests.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Martin’s rendering of these people is somewhere between sincere and satirical and somehow this technique works.—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Mar. 2026
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The darkly satiric film expands to LA, SF, and DC next week and nationwide throughout April.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Beekeeping Frisco businessman Nate Sheets had a comfortable lead over three-term Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller in a heated Republican primary Tuesday after roughly half the votes were tallied, a stinging initial victory in a race roiled by an unusual split at the top of the GOP.—
Lilly Kersh,
Dallas Morning News,
3 Mar. 2026
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The most stinging examples involved longtime partner and close personal friend Ryan Lindgren, and more recently, Panarin.—
Vincent Z. Mercogliano,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Page used barbed wire wrapped around a chair to bust MJF open and hit a Deadeye through a table.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
16 Mar. 2026
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Have Faith Haiti, with its 30-foot-tall walls, barbed wire and guard towers, looks like a prison from the outside.—
Denise Schrier Cetta,
CBS News,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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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.—
Hisham Matar,
Harper's Magazine,
2 Aug. 2024
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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.—
Isaac Chotiner,
The New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Biting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/biting. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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