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View synonyms for piercing

piercing

[ peer-sing ]

adjective

  1. loud or shrill, as the quality of a voice.

    Synonyms: screeching, strident, grating

  2. extremely cold or bitter:

    a piercing wind.

  3. appearing to gaze deeply or penetratingly into something:

    piercing eyes.

  4. perceptive or aware; acute:

    a piercing mind.

  5. sarcastic or caustic; cutting:

    piercing remarks.

  6. having an unpleasantly intense quality or effect:

    a piercing drought.



noun

  1. an act or instance of making a hole or opening in something:

    The cleverly engineered design allows for a safe and smooth piercing of the hose for an easy, watertight installation.

  2. the practice or technique of puncturing a body part so that jewelry can be inserted:

    The shop is super clean and they're obviously experts in piercing.

  3. a hole or opening made by puncturing: An infected navel piercing can usually be treated with antibiotics.

    The five wall piercings were possibly a reference to the Five Holy Wounds of Christ.

    An infected navel piercing can usually be treated with antibiotics.

  4. a ring, stud, or other piece of jewelry inserted through a hole in a body part:

    He wears five silver piercings on his ears.

piercing

/ ˈpɪəsɪŋ /

adjective

  1. (of a sound) sharp and shrill
  2. (of eyes or a look) intense and penetrating
  3. (of an emotion) strong and deeply affecting
  4. (of cold or wind) intense or biting


noun

  1. the art or practice of piercing body parts for the insertion of jewellery
  2. an instance of the piercing of a body part

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Derived Forms

  • ˈpiercingly, adverb

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Other Words From

  • pierc·ing·ly adverb
  • pierc·ing·ness noun
  • un·pierc·ing adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of piercing1

First recorded in 1375–1425; pierce, -ing 2

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Example Sentences

The convergence of their paths sets off a series of events that Naima Coster traces through the following 20 years in her piercing examination of race, identity and generational trauma.

From Time

Mosasaurs commonly had piercing, conical teeth for gripping slippery prey or flat, crushing teeth for smashing hard-shelled animals.

On April 1, Félicie Joseph, a short Haitian immigrant with piercing eyes, called her friend Esther Pascal after her shift at the Waterloo plant.

Once all the piercing is done, the mosquito’s head also has structures to help it suck up as much blood as possible.

It’s a sweeping work of care and one that is often piercing in its painful beauty.

From Vox

“Hell yeah,” he says with a smile and a piercing, blue-eyed stare.

Thunderous sounds announce its arrival, piercing the silence that accompanies sundown in the swampland near Boystown, Liberia.

Sensitive subjects are met with a short burst of laughter, and serious answers are sandwiched between a piercing gaze.

One of the most piercing observations of the article is that while those who had worked with him trusted Welby, no one knew him.

His piercing azure eyes are complemented by a new addition to his appearance: a septum piercing in his nose.

But I doubt if he feels any particular emotion himself, when he is piercing you through with his rendering.

Robert uttered a shrill, piercing whistle which might have been heard back at the wharf.

We certainly get nothing from that quarter but piercing winds and snow-storms.

Steiner, thirdly, built on a higher model still, and his instruments have a thin piercing tone.

It was within an hour of midnight, and the weather being dark and piercing cold, he had no great temptation to loiter.

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Pierce's diseasepiercing saw