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
-
The marathon was less than three days away, and his knee ached.—
Dan Pompei,
New York Times,
16 Mar. 2026 -
The next morning, my joints ached as if I had been struck repeatedly with a bag of wet sand.—
Jan Steyn,
The Dial,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
It was later changed due to players getting hurt.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
31 Mar. 2026
-
However, having players of those caliber on the court, both of whom have either been to the NBA Finals or won it, certainly shouldn't hurt.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 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 3 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
