pierce

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb pierce differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of pierce are enter, penetrate, and probe. While all these words mean "to make way into something," pierce means an entering or cutting through with a sharp pointed instrument.

pierced the boil with a lancet

When might enter be a better fit than pierce?

While the synonyms enter and pierce are close in meaning, enter is the most general of these and may imply either going in or forcing a way in.

entered the city in triumph

When is penetrate a more appropriate choice than pierce?

While in some cases nearly identical to pierce, penetrate carries a strong implication of an impelling force or compelling power that achieves entrance.

the enemy penetrated the fortress

Where would probe be a reasonable alternative to pierce?

The synonyms probe and pierce are sometimes interchangeable, but probe implies penetration to investigate or explore something hidden from sight or knowledge.

probed the depths of the sea

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 pierce From the rear, the arrow would pierce a lung or maybe the heart. Mike Combs, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2025 The Environmental Compliance division handles programs for waste, water and hazardous materials storage, while the Environmental Health division handles food safety, regulates piercing and tattooing, manages noise complaints and more. Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 15 June 2025 Additional components at the pop-up included complimentary champagne, a piercing station, and a custom photobooth. Essence, 9 June 2025 Deputy District Attorney Miriam Hemming said the knife fractured the victim’s sternum, pierced his lung and severed an artery, nearly causing the man to bleed out. City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for pierce
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pierce
Verb
  • The key is its ability to penetrate the skin beyond the surface barrier.
    Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 20 June 2025
  • Iran has been a very difficult jurisdiction to penetrate for decades and even more so since the demonstrations of the last three years.
    Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 19 June 2025
Verb
  • Trump also wrote on social media calling on the Department of Energy to drill quickly.
    Rachel Frazin, The Hill, 23 June 2025
  • There was Ben Sheppard drilling a 3-pointer from the top of the key as the third quarter expired that nearly blew the roof off the Fieldhouse.
    Zak Keefer, New York Times, 20 June 2025
Verb
  • In 2010, a kayaker in the Florida Keys had her lung punctured when a fish leapt out of the water and stabbed her in the back.
    Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 30 June 2025
  • One such fatwa was the one issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the previous supreme leader, against author Salman Rushdie, who was stabbed multiple times at the Chautauqua Institution in southwestern New York in 2022.
    Somayeh Malekian, ABC News, 30 June 2025
Verb
  • To keep adult carpet beetles from entering your home altogether, consider keeping doors and windows closed, or investing in screen covers.
    Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 22 June 2025
  • Learn the telltale signs iron is entering your water from your main supply, old pipes, or a well.
    Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 June 2025
Verb
  • On the witness stand, Ventura described Combs stomping on her face in the back of an Escalade in 2009 and kicking and punching her repeatedly over the years.
    Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 27 June 2025
  • The 48-year-old father of three Marines was working a landscaping job when he was approached – before officers subdued Barranco and punched him multiple times in the back of the head, footage shows Barranco running while holding a weedwacker.
    Rafael Perez, Oc Register, 26 June 2025
Verb
  • At his best, Towns shoots like an archer, drives to the hoop like a rugby bruiser, and glides on his pivot foot, one smooth semicircle after another, like a grade-school protractor with its point puncturing the paper.
    Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
  • The dura can be damaged from head injuries or punctured during surgical procedures involving the sinuses, brain or spine, such as lumbar puncture, epidurals, spinal anesthesia or myelogram.
    Danielle Wilhour, The Conversation, 28 May 2025
Verb
  • Aflac, which provides home and life insurance for more than 50 million policyholders, disclosed last week that cybercriminals were able to breach the company’s U.S. network and may have accessed customers’ personal data including Social Security numbers.
    John Kell, Fortune, 25 June 2025
  • The second bedroom, meanwhile, is accessed by a wooden ladder and again has space for a double bed.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 25 June 2025
Verb
  • Johnson immediately returned to social media Wednesday night to post a series of rambling videos discussing his arrest and seemingly poking at Rogan without addressing him directly.
    Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 27 June 2025
  • Progress with Canada has been a roller coaster, with the U.S. president poking at the nation’s northern neighbor and repeatedly suggesting it would be absorbed as a U.S. state.
    Michelle L. Price, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Pierce.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pierce. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.

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