Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • That uses a sting; furnished with a sting or stinging organs of any sort; urticating: as, a stinging insect or sea-nettle.
  • In botany, noting a plant furnished with stinging hairs. See sting, 2.
  • That pierces or wounds as with a sting; that causes acute pain, irritation, or the like; keen; sharp; pungent; telling: as, a stinging tongue; a stinging rebuke or remark.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Piercing, or capable of piercing, with a sting; inflicting acute pain as if with a sting, goad, or pointed weapon; pungent; biting
  • adjective (Zoöl.) Same as Lasso cell, under Lasso.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Having the capacity to sting.
  • verb Present participle of sting.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective (of speech) harsh or hurtful in tone or character
  • noun a kind of pain; something as sudden and painful as being stung

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word stinging.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.