as in ached
to feel or cause physical pain
the injection only smarted for a moment
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smarted
Verb
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The feeling overwhelmed him even as his jaw ached and his throat compressed in the second quarter of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 114-109 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Sunday.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
11 May 2026 -
Her knees, back, and hands ached.—
Lizzie Johnson,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The ship reported two explosions and a fire onboard, that was subsequently put out, UKMTO said, adding that no crew were hurt.—
Kevin Liptak,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
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According to Marcia, George was convinced he’d be laughed out of Hollywood because in the original script characters were running around and shooting at one another and nobody was getting hurt.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Smarted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smarted. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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