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
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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
John Drake, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
The ancient Greek sport of pankration employed techniques from the more structured disciplines of boxing and wrestling, with no rules except for prohibitions on eye-gouging and biting.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 28 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
House sparrows, common urban reservoir hosts for West Nile virus, remain infectious to biting mosquitoes for approximately two days longer when exposed to artificial light at night, compared to birds in natural light conditions.
—John Drake, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
The ancient Greek sport of pankration employed techniques from the more structured disciplines of boxing and wrestling, with no rules except for prohibitions on eye-gouging and biting.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for biting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for biting
Adjective
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This collection of poems—Orr’s thirteenth—bears bitter witness to environmental degradation, moral corruption, and the aging of a body and of a generation, all viewed from a bird’s eye, wrapped in the language and tone of myth.—
Craig Morgan Teicher,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
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Latest in bitter back-and-forth The sour words about each candidate’s PAC connections are only the latest in a bitter back-and-forth between the two Democrat women.—
Jennah Pendleton,
Sacbee.com,
1 June 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
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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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The norm of planning a hangout is too often a long, soul-sucking scheduling thread.—
Julie Beck,
The Atlantic,
31 May 2026
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Although aphids have a reputation for being harmful, sap-sucking pests that wreak havoc on the garden, these insects aren't always a bad thing.—
Michelle Mastro,
Martha Stewart,
31 May 2026
Adjective
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The entrepreneurs best positioned for the years ahead aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets or the sharpest marketing.—
Rhett Power,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
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Fishermen say increasing competition has spurred a sharp rise in armed conflict, especially between fisherfolk from the Turkana and Dassanech ethnic groups.—
Tommy Trenchard,
NPR,
31 May 2026
Adjective
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Afroman experienced a cultural renaissance after unleashing that satirical wit following a 2022 raid on his Ohio farmhouse by local sheriff's deputies.—
Andrew Graham
May 28,
Sacbee.com,
28 May 2026
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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
Adjective
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Jean-Philippe Mateta, named in France’s World Cup squad earlier this month, reacted superbly after Rayo keeper Augusto Batalla could only parry a stinging Wharton shot from the edge of the box.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
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Coming up short in the 2025 ISL boys lacrosse championship left a stinging sensation for Tabor Academy.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
17 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 6 Jun. 2026.
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