1
as in gouged
to charge (someone) too much for goods or services
a nightclub that's been stinging patrons for years
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cheated
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
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Recent Examples of stung
An American teacher and his teenage son have been stung to death while on holiday in Laos.
—
Christian Orozco, NBC news, 5 Nov. 2025
An American father and son died after being stung by a swarm of hornets while ziplining in Southeast Asia, local officials confirmed.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
While basic first aid can often ease the pain of a bee sting, according to the Mayo Clinic, those who are stung more than a dozen times can experience a more severe reaction, which includes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and lightheadedness.
—Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
Considering that one cocktail could cost one hour of some employees’ wages, the removal of that free drink benefit stung even more, Quimby and Reber told Deadline.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2025
John Kell Amazon Web Services stung by massive outage.
—John Kell, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2025
Gaia sent a giant scorpion to stop Orion, who was stung and died.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
But Saturday in Austin stung McLaren greatly, as a melee at Turn 1 ended with its drivers touching and retiring, opening the door for Verstappen to make the maximum sprint win gain.
—Luke Smith, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Algren, stung by Beauvoir’s independence, treated her miserably.
—Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Christian Orozco, NBC news, 5 Nov. 2025
An American father and son died after being stung by a swarm of hornets while ziplining in Southeast Asia, local officials confirmed.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
While basic first aid can often ease the pain of a bee sting, according to the Mayo Clinic, those who are stung more than a dozen times can experience a more severe reaction, which includes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and lightheadedness.
—Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
Considering that one cocktail could cost one hour of some employees’ wages, the removal of that free drink benefit stung even more, Quimby and Reber told Deadline.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2025
John Kell Amazon Web Services stung by massive outage.
—John Kell, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2025
Gaia sent a giant scorpion to stop Orion, who was stung and died.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
But Saturday in Austin stung McLaren greatly, as a melee at Turn 1 ended with its drivers touching and retiring, opening the door for Verstappen to make the maximum sprint win gain.
—Luke Smith, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Algren, stung by Beauvoir’s independence, treated her miserably.
—Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stung
Verb
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At Dia, the cage has been reconstructed in full, complete with Hsieh’s boots and his tally marks gouged into the wall.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
7 Nov. 2025
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Successive hurricanes had gouged a hole in the Sunshine State, leaving several private carriers insolvent — and leaving hundreds of thousands of their customers with no choice but Citizens.—
Mario Ariza,
ProPublica,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The fractures within the group, however — with some of the cast siding with Ariana Madix (who’d been cheated on), and others agreeing to film with Tom Sandoval (who had cheated) — made filming for Season 11 mostly unsustainainable.—
Kate Aurthur,
Variety,
3 Nov. 2025
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Overall, prosecutors allege the nearly three-dozen defendants cheated unfortunate players out of at least $7 million.—
Ben Brachfeld,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Another passenger squeezed her way up the aisle to try to make a tight connection.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
9 Nov. 2025
-
De’Von Achane took the handoff, squeezed through the hole, blasted past a diving defender at midfield and outraced the rest of the Bills’ defense to the end zone.—
Steve Gorten,
Miami Herald,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Thermal runaway, or self-heating, can occur without warning in lithium batteries as a result of various factors, including if the battery is damaged, overheated, exposed to water, overcharged or improperly packed, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
19 Oct. 2025
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That same year, millions of plaintiffs filed an antitrust class action lawsuit seeking over $1 billion in damages that alleged Sutter Health overcharged customers and companies for health care bills and discouraged clients from using other lower-cost services.—
Kyle Martin,
Mercury News,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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An all-star cast plucked from different corners of the pop culture firmament leads Ryan Murphy's All's Fair, a Hulu legal drama about female divorce attorneys who open their own practice.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Nov. 2025
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Such is life in Marthaland, where homemaking tasks are plucked from the realm of everyday drudgery and elevated to a pure pursuit of excellence.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Scorched and stained pots and pans almost always require scraping and scouring, and cast-iron skillets can rust when soaked.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
6 Nov. 2025
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His fiction, neither notably blood-soaked nor mythologically freighted, also differs starkly from the work of Larry McMurtry and Cormac McCarthy, contemporaries who likewise were famously steeped in the West.—
Tyler Austin Harper,
The Atlantic,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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All that was between him and a defender was Stafford, who hustled to get into position before offering a chicken wing of a block.—
Nate Atkins,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
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But Boberg, a freshman defender, hustled to the goal line to block the attempt.—
Mike Cook,
Twin Cities,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Get live security wait times, so you’re not stuck in a five‑hour shuffle line that’s already happening.—
The Kim Komando Show,
FOXNews.com,
8 Nov. 2025
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Sheridan figured out how to format her book, made a cover for it and stuck it on Amazon.—
Kaycee Sloan,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stung.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stung. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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