biting

1 causing intense discomfort to one's skin a biting wind that only the toughest football fans were willing to endure Synonyms cutting, bitter, keen, penetrating, piercing, raw, sharp, shrewd, smarting, stingingRelated Words brisk, invigorating, nippy, snappy; needlelike, prickly, tingling; caustic, corrosiveNear Antonyms balmy, gentle, mild, soothing

2 marked by the use of wit that is intended to cause hurt feelings the biting comments by the popular girls about the new kid in class Synonyms acerb, acerbic, acid, acidic, acidulous, acrid, barbed, sarcastic, caustic, corrosive, cutting, mordant, pungent, sardonic, satiric (or satirical), scalding, scathing, sharp, smart-aleck, smart-alecky, smart-mouthed, snarky, tartRelated Words brisk, cross, sharp-tongued, sour, sourish, spiky (also spikey), tartish; incisive, keen, poignant, trenchant; cynical, dry, ironic (also ironical), wry; facetious, flippant, tongue-in-cheek; acrimonious, bitter, resentful, vitriolic; harsh, rough, severe, stringent; abrupt, blunt, brusque (also brusk), concise, crisp, curt, gruff, pithy, snippety, snippy, succinct, terse; backhanded, insincereNear Antonyms amusing, droll, merry, playful, sportive, waggish; gentle, mild; bland; good-humored, good-natured; diplomatic, polite, smooth, suave, urbane; affable, cordial, genial, gracious, hospitable, sociable