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
Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
Chad and Darlene confide in each other and bond, a little too closely, over their similar biting humor.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 12 Mar. 2025
Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 20 Mar. 2025
Predictably, no streamers were biting.
—Brian Welk, IndieWire, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for biting
Adjective
The criticism from Barney Ronay at The Guardian was even more biting.
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
Chad and Darlene confide in each other and bond, a little too closely, over their similar biting humor.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 12 Mar. 2025
Verb
Turner was seen grabbing the back of the victim’s head and pressing it into the sand before pulling it up and biting him, according to investigators.
—Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 20 Mar. 2025
Predictably, no streamers were biting.
—Brian Welk, IndieWire, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for biting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for biting
Adjective
-
The United States and the Soviet Union were bitter adversaries during the four decade-long Cold War, competing for influence on multiple continents and arming their respective proxies from as far afield as Afghanistan, Angola, and Nicaragua in order to enhance their power at the other's expense.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
-
By emphasizing short wars, strategists rely too much on initial battle plans that may not play out in practice—with bitter consequences.—
Lawrence D. Freedman,
Foreign Affairs,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Goldberg continued before asking her co-hosts their opinions in a sarcastic tone.—
Liza Esquibias,
People.com,
24 Apr. 2025
-
Where Jackie is sarcastic, cynical, and all sharp edges, Zoey is enthusiastic and warm.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
21 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Directed by Robert Eggers, the gothic horror film sees newlyweds Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) and Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) haunted by the treacherous, blood-sucking Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard).—
EW.com,
EW.com,
30 Dec. 2024
-
This time around, even critics were convinced, joining in with libidinous fans to praise the blood-sucking second season, which was recently nominated for two Critics Choice Awards after being largely snubbed by voting bodies last year.—
Elaina Patton,
NBC News,
27 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
The aviation industry expects the exemption to help companies keep costs down during a sharp pullback in travel spending by consumers worried about slower economic growth and higher inflation.—
Rajesh Kumar Singh,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2025
-
Effects from the other types include painful, red eyes with yellow discharge, a sore throat, stomach pain, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, a dry cough, difficulty breathing, sharp chest pain and weight loss.—
Adriana Pérez,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
That’s the premise of Douglas Is Cancelled, a cruelly funny 2024 BBC sitcom that seems very much in sync with satiric comedies such as The Office and W1A and Yes Minister.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
22 Mar. 2025
-
Misery, a horror movie with a satiric streak, launched Bates’s film stardom.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2025
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.—
Hisham Matar,
Harper's Magazine,
2 Aug. 2024
-
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
Adjective
-
Standing in front of an array of 4,500 Canadian solar panels and across from a wall topped with barbed wire, Gov. Ned Lamont today announced the completion of seven solar projects at prisons located in Enfield, Cheshire and Somers.—
Emilia Otte,
Hartford Courant,
25 Apr. 2025
-
Some of the humor has a barbed, geopolitical aim in a war for the world’s hearts and minds — see the Chinese government’s fusillade of memes — but political scientists say that, for many people, humor is a natural response to stressful times.—
Hailey Branson-Potts,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
What spooks Vara is that A.I. writes what are possibly her essay’s most piercing lines.—
Dwight Garner,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Only Jean-Baptiste could make such a screed so funny, so piercing and so devastating.—
Katie Walsh,
Twin Cities,
10 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Biting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/biting. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share