Synonyms of stinging

stinging 1 of 2

adjective

as in biting

causing intense discomfort to one's skin

these cold, stinging winds are not just a discomfort—they can be dangerous to exposed flesh

Synonyms & Similar Words

• biting
• bitter
• sharp
• penetrating
• brisk
• piercing
• keen
• cutting
• smarting
• raw
• shrewd
• caustic
• tingling
• prickly
• corrosive
• snappy
• invigorating
• needlelike
• nippy

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• mild
• gentle
• soothing
• balmy

stinging

2 of 2

verb

present participle of sting

1

as in gouging

to charge (someone) too much for goods or services

a nightclub that's been stinging patrons for years

Synonyms & Similar Words

• gouging
• cheating
• soaking
• overcharging
• surcharging
• sticking
• clipping
• defrauding
• fleecing
• skinning
• mischarging

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• undercharging

2

as in plucking

to rob by the use of trickery or threats

swindlers who sting unwary tourists by posing as officials demanding money

Synonyms & Similar Words

• plucking
• squeezing
• cheating
• beating
• hustling
• sticking
• bleeding
• screwing
• doing
• deceiving
• reaming
• gaffing
• mulcting
• hosing
• fiddling
• victimizing
• rooking
• fleecing
• shaking down
• defrauding
• chiseling
• swindling
• tricking
• cozening
• shortchanging
• shorting
• suckering
• wrenching
• skinning
• stiffing
• exploiting
• ripping off
• bilking
• diddling
• conning
• betraying
• skunking
• nobbling
• doing in
• flimflamming
• chousing
• clipping
• thimblerigging
• fooling
• taking for a ride
• gouging
• euchring
• taking to the cleaners
• extorting
• wringing
• nicking
• soaking
• selling a bill of goods to
• overcharging
• milking
• wresting
• gulling
• bitching
• duping
• double-crossing
• bamboozling
• roping (in)
• fast-talking

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of stinging

Adjective

Biting and stinging arthropods, such as wasps, mosquitos and spiders, account for five states. — Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026

That move came just as the clock was running out Friday on stopgap levies the president imposed after a stinging defeat for other tariffs at the Supreme Court. — ABC News, 24 July 2026

The researchers' device aims to solve the stinging problem by physically preventing this meeting (unfortunately no images of it are available at this time). — New Atlas, 30 June 2026

Since September of 2024, federal science agencies in the US have axed nearly 120,000 employees, in a stinging loss for public research. — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 25 June 2026

Jean-Philippe Mateta, named in France’s World Cup squad earlier this month, reacted superbly after Rayo keeper Augusto Batalla could only parry a stinging Wharton shot from the edge of the box. — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 27 May 2026

Coming up short in the 2025 ISL boys lacrosse championship left a stinging sensation for Tabor Academy. — Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 17 May 2026

Parasitoids are non-stinging wasps, flies, and other insects that develop on or in a host, eventually killing it. — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 9 May 2026

My eyes, raw and stinging, now filled with their own salty tears. — Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 4 May 2026

Verb

Battered fish and salt-and-vinegar-seasoned chips have been a staple for hundreds of years, best paired with stinging seaside winds and spray. — Will Barker, TheWeek, 17 Aug. 2026

Beneath Lamb’s unkempt appearance, crude manners, noxious flatulence, and stinging remarks lies one of the sharpest minds in MI5 and a man fiercely protective of his brood of misfits. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Aug. 2026

Nidhi, still pleading with her to drop them, followed, the long grass stinging her ankles. — Madhuri Vijay, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026

The island’s very existence—a prosperous, democratic Chinese society integrated with the West—offers a stinging rebuke to the claim that authoritarian rule is uniquely suited to the Chinese people. — Charlie Campbell, Time, 11 Aug. 2026

Still stinging emotionally from the recording studio shooting and assault case that both happened in New York and Shakur feared were setups, Knight told Kearse a week after Shakur’s death that Tupac had more than a financial connection to Death Row. — Andy Rose, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026

The downside is that the active ingredients can trigger stinging, breakouts or reactions in people with sensitive skin. — Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 30 July 2026

The 21-year-old grows more confident when starting on the left wing, stinging the outside of Rosenborg’s goalpost wth a solid effort in the 28th minute. — Carl Anka, New York Times, 25 July 2026

Off the back of her high-profile return to music and very public stinging attack of David Harbour, Prime Video is making a doc about Lily Allen. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 22 July 2026