stabbing 1 of 2

adjective

as in scratching

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

stabbing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of stab
as in jabbing
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object stabbed the pesky leaf with the tines of the rake

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 stabbing
Verb
Video clips of Guarino performing the Endo One procedure — which involves repeatedly stabbing the skin with a thin, cylindrical rod, releasing a red laser — are posted regularly on his and EvoSkin’s Instagram accounts. — Ella Moore july 23, Miami Herald, 23 July 2026 Holly returns to save her dad by violently stabbing and killing Crowley, but Voit decides to take the fall for Holly and is put back behind bars. — Joyce Eng, Entertainment Weekly, 23 July 2026 After more than a decade of unanswered questions, the family of 32-year-old Irasema Chavez is a step closer to justice as Arlington police and the FBI announced the arrest of her friend in connection with Chavez's 2012 stabbing death. — Mateo Rosiles, USA Today, 22 July 2026 Yolo County jurors found Carlos Reales Dominguez guilty of involuntary manslaughter Tuesday but rejected second-degree murder charges in the stabbing deaths of two Davis men during a 2023 series of attacks that shocked the city. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 21 July 2026 Paul proceeded to go inside and find Keith’s wife, Jennifer, 45, and shot her in the head before stabbing her. — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 18 July 2026 The 74-year-old had been convicted of stabbing his wife to death in 1992. — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 16 July 2026 As the victim turned to get the water, the attacker began stabbing him, according to Din. — Reuters, NBC news, 15 July 2026 In surveillance footage Cobos-Martinez was seen leaving the motel room, grabbing a machete and beginning cutting and stabbing Nagamallaiah, police said. — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stabbing
  1. piercing
  2. jabbing
  3. lacerating
  4. puncturing
  5. jagged
  6. picking
  7. sticking
Adjective
  • Still, the glimpses of freedom Clark offers are all the more piercing for their rarity.
    — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 21 Apr. 2026
  • The ping of pickleball play produces a uniquely piercing and repetitive sound that has led to contentious lawsuits and controversies across the entire country, including just north in Fox Point, as the sport has rapidly grown in popularity over the last few years.
    — Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 3 Mar. 2026
Definition of piercing
Verb
  • The show ushered in a new era of winking, elbow-jabbing meta-musicals.
    — Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 26 June 2026
  • The audience groaned, while Vergara and Mel B screamed for Strange to stop jabbing at his partner through the box.
    — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 17 June 2026
Definition of jabbing
Adjective
  • But Sinner, with his lacerating groundstrokes and impeccable anticipation, has a returning edge over Zverev.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 12 July 2026
  • Mulligan delivers lacerating fragility, while Isaac turns Josh’s accommodating nature into a pathology, but both characters are littered with backstory details that Beef leaves hanging.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
Definition of lacerating
Verb
  • As the spacecraft closed in, the video follows Mars steadily expanding to reveal numerous craters puncturing its surface, the ancient double-ringed Huygens crater and the south polar ice cap before receding in the spacecraft's rearview.
    — Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 22 July 2026
  • On June 3, Walden went to the hospital, where a CT scan revealed the metal bristle had become lodged in his bowel and had begun puncturing his intestine.
    — Nick Lunemann, CBS News, 30 June 2026
Definition of puncturing
Adjective
  • But early reactions confirm Moonshot’s model is a solid one, even if more jagged than Anthropic's Fable or OpenAI's Sol in some applications.
    — Christian Catalini, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
  • While 2022’s Trouble the Water embraced the jagged edges of Show Me the Body’s sludgy punk-metal sound, Alone Together is a sleek and streamlined album that includes their most agreeable songs yet.
    — Eli Enis, Pitchfork, 15 July 2026
Definition of jagged
Verb
  • There is a competitive theory behind picking a quiet Tennessee city over a host metropolis.
    — Sam Leveridge, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
  • Usually, that means picking a more premium seating section or opting for an aisle or window seat, depending on preference.
    — Lindsey Campbell, Travel + Leisure, 17 July 2026
Definition of picking
Verb
  • Everyone looks glowing and glamorous, despite sticking generally to a dutiful antiquities theme.
    — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
  • When an outside threat increases, various mammal species will respond by sticking close together.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 July 2026
Definition of sticking

Browse Nearby Words

stabbed in the back
stabbing
stabbing in the back
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stabbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stabbing. Accessed 25 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on stabbing

Nglish: Translation of stabbing for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All