as in ached
to feel or cause physical pain
the injection only smarted for a moment
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smarted
Verb
-
In the bitter New Hampshire night, my skull ached with tight, tectonic pressure.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026 -
That hand must have ached profoundly by the time the group departed.—
Harold Holzer,
New York Daily News,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Finding solutions that allow AI to flourish without hurting consumers is eminently doable.—
Bradley Tusk,
New York Daily News,
17 Feb. 2026
-
His 1984 campaign angered some Democrats who said his ideas were too left-leaning and would hurt the party in the general election.—
Char Adams,
NBC news,
17 Feb. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Smarted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smarted. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
