adj
Meaning 1
Appearing to look deeply into; penetrating.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- piercing eyes
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: gimlety
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
piercing
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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General-American: /ˈpɪɹsɪŋ/
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Received-Pronunciation: /ˈpɪəsɪŋ/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɪə(ɹ)sɪŋ
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CMU ARPABET: P IH1 R S IH0 NG Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
Of temperature, extremely cold so that it penetrates through clothing and shelter.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: raw
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 3
Of sound, loud and sharp; shrill.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- The piercing noise of the children could be heard two blocks from the elementary school.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
gerund of pierce
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, form-of, gerund, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
A hole made in the body so that jewellery can be worn through it.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
- ear piercing
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
An item of jewellery designed to be fitted through a piercing (noun sense 2).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 7
present participle and gerund of pierce
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: form-of, gerund, participle, present
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 8
painful as if caused by a sharp instrument
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- a cutting wind
- keen winds
- knifelike cold
- piercing knifelike pains
- piercing cold
- piercing criticism
- a stabbing pain
- lancinating pain
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: cutting, keen, knifelike, stabbing, lancinate, lancinating
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 9
having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- an acute observer of politics and politicians
- incisive comments
- icy knifelike reasoning
- as sharp and incisive as the stroke of a fang
- penetrating insight
- frequent penetrative observations
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: acute, discriminating, incisive, keen, knifelike, penetrating, penetrative, sharp
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From pierce + -ing.
Across languages
Translations
57 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: проницателен (pronicatelen) — appearing to look deeply into; penetrating
- Chinese Mandarin: 尖利 (jiānlì) — appearing to look deeply into; penetrating
- Finnish: läpitunkeva — appearing to look deeply into; penetrating
- German: durchdringend — appearing to look deeply into; penetrating
- German: stechend — appearing to look deeply into; penetrating
- Italian: pungente — appearing to look deeply into; penetrating
- Italian: penetrante — appearing to look deeply into; penetrating
- Latin: penetrālis — appearing to look deeply into; penetrating
- Spanish: punzante — appearing to look deeply into; penetrating
- Bulgarian: пронизващ (pronizvašt) — of temperature - extremely cold
- German: beißend — of temperature - extremely cold
- Italian: penetrante — of temperature - extremely cold
- Māori: kōtaratara — of temperature - extremely cold
- Māori: tio — of temperature - extremely cold
- Belarusian: прані́злівы (pranízlivy) — of sound - shrill
- Belarusian: прарэзлівы (prarezlivy) — of sound - shrill
- Bulgarian: пронизителен (pronizitelen) — of sound - shrill
- German: durchdringend — of sound - shrill
- German: schrill — of sound - shrill
- Ancient Greek: ὀξύφωνος (oxúphōnos) — of sound - shrill
- Latin: strīdulus — of sound - shrill
- Māori: tīkākā — of sound - shrill
- Māori: tīwharawhara — of sound - shrill
- Armenian: թորիծ (tʻoric) — hole for jewelry
- Catalan: pírcing — hole for jewelry
- Chinese Mandarin: 刺穿 (cìchuān) — hole for jewelry
- Chinese Mandarin: 穿洞 (chuāndòng) — hole for jewelry
- Chinese Mandarin: 沖孔 /冲孔 (chōngkǒng) — hole for jewelry
- Dutch: piercing — hole for jewelry
- Finnish: lävistys — hole for jewelry
- French: piercing — hole for jewelry
- Georgian: პირსინგი (ṗirsingi) — hole for jewelry
- German: Piercing — hole for jewelry
- Italian: foro — hole for jewelry
- Japanese: ピアスホール (piasu hōru) — hole for jewelry
- Polish: piercing — hole for jewelry
- Portuguese: piercing — hole for jewelry
- Portuguese: pírcingue — hole for jewelry
- Russian: пи́рсинг (pírsing) — hole for jewelry
- Russian: прока́лывание (prokályvanije) — hole for jewelry
- Spanish: pirsin — hole for jewelry
- Spanish: piercing — hole for jewelry
- Swedish: piercing — hole for jewelry
- Turkish: pirsing — hole for jewelry
- Bulgarian: пирсинг (pirsing) — the jewelry itself
- Finnish: lävistys — the jewelry itself
- French: piercing — the jewelry itself
- Georgian: პირსინგი (ṗirsingi) — the jewelry itself
- Italian: piercing — the jewelry itself
- Japanese: ピアス (piasu) — the jewelry itself
- Korean: 피어싱 (pieosing) — the jewelry itself
- Portuguese: pírcingue — the jewelry itself
- Portuguese: piercing — the jewelry itself
- Spanish: pirsin — the jewelry itself
- Spanish: piercing — the jewelry itself
- Turkish: pirsing — the jewelry itself
- Turkish: hızma — the jewelry itself
Real reading context