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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of stinging
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
The scientists found both were composed of a fibrous material that contained many stinging cells called spirocysts, which belong exclusively to the branch of aquatic invertebrates known as cnidarians.
—Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 23 Apr. 2026
Andrew Lichtenstein | Corbis News | Getty Images The Senate on Thursday overturned a mining moratorium in Minnesota's Superior National Forest, a boon for a Chilean mining company subsidiary and a stinging loss for environmentalists trying to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
—Garrett Downs, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2026
What’s known as burning or stinging nettles has hairs along the stems that release a stinging, burning compound when touched.
—Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2026
Beekeeping Frisco businessman Nate Sheets had a comfortable lead over three-term Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller in a heated Republican primary Tuesday after roughly half the votes were tallied, a stinging initial victory in a race roiled by an unusual split at the top of the GOP.
—Lilly Kersh, Dallas Morning News, 3 Mar. 2026
Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026
Sacramento Stingers California’s capital city has a number of prominent entities represented by flying, stinging insects.
—Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 29 May 2026
One is that the stinging rhetoric will leave lasting images in our minds, even following the inauguration.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 29 May 2026
Wirtz went out for a meal with Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez last weekend, some 24 hours after the Egyptian had caused a stir with his stinging critique of the team’s performances on social media.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 23 May 2026
Rain pounds down in a stinging curtain.
—Kansas City Star, 22 May 2026
Despite a series of stinging gerrymandering losses, Democrats remain favored to take back the House.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 18 May 2026
How to Identify Peach Tree Borers Adult peach tree borers resemble stinging wasps, an evolutionary trick designed to scare away predators.
—Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 14 May 2026
Bees stinging me everywhere, including underneath my shirt.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 8 May 2026
Adjective
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
The scientists found both were composed of a fibrous material that contained many stinging cells called spirocysts, which belong exclusively to the branch of aquatic invertebrates known as cnidarians.
—Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 23 Apr. 2026
Andrew Lichtenstein | Corbis News | Getty Images The Senate on Thursday overturned a mining moratorium in Minnesota's Superior National Forest, a boon for a Chilean mining company subsidiary and a stinging loss for environmentalists trying to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
—Garrett Downs, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2026
What’s known as burning or stinging nettles has hairs along the stems that release a stinging, burning compound when touched.
—Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2026
Beekeeping Frisco businessman Nate Sheets had a comfortable lead over three-term Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller in a heated Republican primary Tuesday after roughly half the votes were tallied, a stinging initial victory in a race roiled by an unusual split at the top of the GOP.
—Lilly Kersh, Dallas Morning News, 3 Mar. 2026
Verb
Fallout from the scandal, compounded by the Labor Party’s stinging local election losses, has tanked Starmer’s poll numbers.
—Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026
Sacramento Stingers California’s capital city has a number of prominent entities represented by flying, stinging insects.
—Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 29 May 2026
One is that the stinging rhetoric will leave lasting images in our minds, even following the inauguration.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 29 May 2026
Wirtz went out for a meal with Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez last weekend, some 24 hours after the Egyptian had caused a stir with his stinging critique of the team’s performances on social media.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 23 May 2026
Rain pounds down in a stinging curtain.
—Kansas City Star, 22 May 2026
Despite a series of stinging gerrymandering losses, Democrats remain favored to take back the House.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 18 May 2026
How to Identify Peach Tree Borers Adult peach tree borers resemble stinging wasps, an evolutionary trick designed to scare away predators.
—Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 14 May 2026
Bees stinging me everywhere, including underneath my shirt.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 8 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stinging
Adjective
-
Netflix’s big comedy bet might be the Dan Levy–Rachel Sennott co-creation Big Mistakes; the biting, farcical series about adult siblings who get caught up in the drug business plays like Weeds crossed with The Other Two.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
2 May 2026
-
The tracks are more vulnerable, biting, and self-aware than ever, and in some cases, feature lyrics pulled right out of Hjelt’s diary.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The vast majority of those funds have come from a political action committee backed by Airbnb, which Feldstein Soto sued last year for violating price-gouging laws in the wake of the wildfires.—
Sonja Sharp,
Los Angeles Times,
23 May 2026
-
But these concerns have not gone unnoticed, as a bill is currently making its way through the California General Assembly that aims to cap resale prices as a way to limit ticket brokers and resale platforms from price-gouging fans.—
Noe Padilla,
USA Today,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
Each following June, Kvaratskhelia would repeat the ritual, plucking the early growers from the tree.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
-
The only thing that prevented a shutout was Ross Colton plucking in a rebound off Brent Burns’ sniper off Hart’s chest.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
23 May 2026
Adjective
-
This collection of poems—Orr’s thirteenth—bears bitter witness to environmental degradation, moral corruption, and the aging of a body and of a generation, all viewed from a bird’s eye, wrapped in the language and tone of myth.—
Craig Morgan Teicher,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
-
Latest in bitter back-and-forth The sour words about each candidate’s PAC connections are only the latest in a bitter back-and-forth between the two Democrat women.—
Jennah Pendleton,
Sacbee.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Greg de la Garza, Miami The Republican Party of Florida is cheating and getting away with it.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
30 May 2026
-
In the course of reality TV’s 20-some-odd years golden era, a cheating scandal is almost as certain as a public screaming match in an unsuspecting local restaurant.—
Alexandra Hildreth,
Vogue,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
After squeezing the game’s final out, first baseman Leyton MacPherson casually flipped the ball in the air, joined her teammate in a sprint toward Spangler, and gloves began flying.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 May 2026
-
After a week of squeezing through the dangerous, mazelike cave network, divers Mikko Paasi and Norrased Palasing emerged from its muddy waters Wednesday to find a cause for hope.—
Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
The entrepreneurs best positioned for the years ahead aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets or the sharpest marketing.—
Rhett Power,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
-
Fishermen say increasing competition has spurred a sharp rise in armed conflict, especially between fisherfolk from the Turkana and Dassanech ethnic groups.—
Tommy Trenchard,
NPR,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
Interestingly, OriginTaste uses vacuum soaking to help rice absorb water more deeply.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
-
Blood kept gushing out, soaking the pads under her dark red.—
Kavitha Surana,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stinging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stinging. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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