1
as in bitter
causing intense discomfort to one's skin
a biting wind that only the toughest football fans were willing to endure
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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
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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
Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 26 May 2026
Not dance, after Fiebig recalled biting their ballet teacher as a 5-year-old.
—Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 24 May 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
Republicans will be biting their nails tonight.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 26 May 2026
Not dance, after Fiebig recalled biting their ballet teacher as a 5-year-old.
—Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 24 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for biting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for biting
Adjective
-
The bitter campaign is emblematic of broader debates within the Democratic Party over the role of money in politics.—
Matt Brown,
Fortune,
25 May 2026
-
The two longtime neighbors are locked in a bitter and costly legal dispute.—
DANA HEDGPETH THE WASHINGTON POST,
Arkansas Online,
24 May 2026
Adjective
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Shah’s closest ally (and the person most willing to call Shah on his lies to himself and others) is his cousin Zulfi, a gigantic character who Khan energizes with fast-talking charm, sarcastic asides, and an assessing glare that can cut through anyone’s defenses.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
29 May 2026
-
Yet another compared the look to Van Gogh, while others were more than ready to take Bieber up on her presumably sarcastic offer to accept appointments.—
Marci Robin,
Allure,
25 May 2026
Verb
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Octopuses can move at high speed by sucking water into an interior funnel and squirting it out like air escaping from a balloon.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
25 May 2026
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These images do not romanticize the West as much as document how difficult, life-sucking and under-appreciated this job can be.—
Ray Mark Rinaldi,
Denver Post,
18 May 2026
Adjective
-
Slow the reply before pressure makes the wording sharper than intended.—
Tarot.com,
Chicago Tribune,
24 May 2026
-
Keep mower blades sharp, cut grass to species-specific heights, and remove no more than one-third of the blade.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 May 2026
Adjective
-
For Lili in her darkest hour to summon a little petty annoyance over the wrong milk substitute for her coffee is a satirical grace note in an episode conspicuously short on laughs.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
24 May 2026
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What began as a tongue-in-cheek swipe against remarks made by the chief justice of the Supreme Court of India has snowballed into a satirical political movement on social media.—
Britannica Editors,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
23 May 2026
Adjective
-
Coming up short in the 2025 ISL boys lacrosse championship left a stinging sensation for Tabor Academy.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
17 May 2026
-
Parasitoids are non-stinging wasps, flies, and other insects that develop on or in a host, eventually killing it.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
9 May 2026
Adjective
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Cage had his arm smashed multiple times, Wheeler had a piece of his nose nearly taken off and barbed wire scraped the skin of each competitor.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
25 May 2026
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Homes and gardens sit behind protective walls and gates with barbed wire.—
Eleanor Beardsley,
NPR,
19 May 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 31 May. 2026.
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