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
Further down the supply chain, former Army Ranger Patrick Montgomery, who runs KC Cattle Company, located outside Kansas City, Missouri, has been stung by high prices.
—
Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 18 Feb. 2026
Further down the supply chain, former Army Ranger Patrick Montgomery, who runs KC Cattle Company, located outside Kansas City, Missouri, has been stung by high prices.
—Enda Curran, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2026
Steve died in 2006 after being stung by a stingray at the Batt Reef off the coast of Australia.
—Janelle Ash , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 10 Feb. 2026
The loss certainly stung for Maye.
—Greg Dudek, Hartford Courant, 9 Feb. 2026
The ending of this game stung for the Sabres.
—Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
For Avila, who helps lead a federation of Zacatecan migrant groups that over decades has raised tens of millions of dollars for public work projects back home, the whole thing stung of betrayal.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Grejo sank scowling back into his chair as though stung by Adi’s answer.
—Jonathan Miles, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
His sarcasm stung almost daily, but the winning followed weekly.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 18 Feb. 2026
Further down the supply chain, former Army Ranger Patrick Montgomery, who runs KC Cattle Company, located outside Kansas City, Missouri, has been stung by high prices.
—Enda Curran, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2026
Steve died in 2006 after being stung by a stingray at the Batt Reef off the coast of Australia.
—Janelle Ash , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 10 Feb. 2026
The loss certainly stung for Maye.
—Greg Dudek, Hartford Courant, 9 Feb. 2026
The ending of this game stung for the Sabres.
—Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
For Avila, who helps lead a federation of Zacatecan migrant groups that over decades has raised tens of millions of dollars for public work projects back home, the whole thing stung of betrayal.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Grejo sank scowling back into his chair as though stung by Adi’s answer.
—Jonathan Miles, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
His sarcasm stung almost daily, but the winning followed weekly.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stung
Verb
-
Scheffler pushed his drive into the right fairway bunker on the par-4, could only advance the ball 54 yards into the left rough and gouged his third shot short of the green.—
John Marshall,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Feb. 2026
-
After getting gouged repeatedly by bootleg play-action passes, screens and space plays over their first two series, the Pats struck back with a short-yardage stop and forced fumble on the next two series.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Visitors to the sites at Independence Park were cheated when they were cut off from facts that enable us to imagine ourselves in the lives of those who lived and worked there.—
Carol Quillen,
Time,
21 Feb. 2026
-
To sum up the series finale’s key moments, in the college timeline, Bree (Cat Missal), in a rage of anger after finding out that Lucy (Grace Van Patten) was the person Evan (Branden Cook) had cheated with, releases the tape of Lucy admitting to lying about being raped.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The fluctuations hint at an episodic, external source—potentially eruptions from a sort of super-Io satellite being tidally squeezed by its hefty planetary host.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Small businesses, squeezed by the tariffs, may be forced to absorb the loss.—
Phillip Molnar,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Instead of swift passage on Wednesday, the proposal has become a new flashpoint in a sensitive discussion over police-community relations, with some event organizers questioning why community groups who feel overcharged by the police should have to appeal to the same department for subsidies.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
6 Feb. 2026
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The lawsuit alleges diabetic Iowans have been overcharged millions of dollars a year and cut off from affordable insulin.—
Kyle Werner,
Des Moines Register,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Rather than wait on her line tho, Sesno smartly came forward and plucked the ball out of the air before a shot could be taken.—
Clark Fahrenthold,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
-
There was a short period, near the end of a messy, deeply ambiguous night of football at the Parc des Princes, that could have come directly from May 2025, plucked from the timeline and placed here, a little winter gift from the sporting gods.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And after significant rainfall soaked the soil during Monday’s storm, trees were particularly vulnerable to toppling during Tuesday night’s strong winds.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Storms have soaked Southern Californians in recent days, but it’s not supposed to dry up just yet.—
Paris Barraza,
USA Today,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Undermanned Sacramento hustled its way back into the game and trailed by just one with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
22 Feb. 2026
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As wildfires burned hundreds of acres of Kansas prairie this week, TikTok users grabbed phones and cameras to record images of ash falling like snow, cattle being hustled to safety, firefighters in farm fields and other images from the emergency.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
But your risk of getting stuck awake between cycles goes up as the night goes on.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
24 Feb. 2026
-
My own words too are stuck in my throat.—
Sayantani DasGupta
February 24,
Literary Hub,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stung.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stung. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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