piercing
adjective
piercĀ·ing
| \ Ėpir-siÅ
\
\
Definition of piercing
(Entry 1 of 2)
piercing
nounDefinition of piercing (Entry 2 of 2)
: a piece of jewelry (such as a ring or stud) that is attached to pierced flesh
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Other Words from piercing
Adjective
piercingly
\ Ėpir-siÅ-lÄ
\
adverb
\
adverb
Synonyms for piercing
Synonyms: Adjective
biting, bitter, cutting, keen, penetrating, raw, sharp, shrewd, smarting, stinging
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Examples of piercing in a Sentence
Adjective
She looked at me with piercing eyes, and I was suddenly frightened that she knew what I had done. I tried to avoid his piercing stare. She felt a piercing sadness when she heard the news.Noun
There's a small shop in town where they do tattooing and body piercing. She got another ear piercing.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
But the visualization shows the midsection buzz transforming into a more piercing screech to overcome the pumpās din. — Hiroko Tabuchi, New York Times, "Near Noisy Oil Fields, Lovesick Birds Change Their Tunes," 13 Mar. 2018 Making her ice blue gaze that much more piercing, glowing skin and a rosy nude pigment (courtesy of Diorās new Addict Lacquer Plump lip stain in Lovely-D) rounded out the look. — Lauren Valenti, Vogue, "Inside Paris Jacksonās Rock 'n' Roll Beauty Diary at the Dior Party in L.A.," 15 Mar. 2018 And when Marjorie Prime, still working out a fraught relationship with her daughter, streams a favorite song of the younger woman's as a peace offering, what unfolds is one of the most piercing moments in movies this year. — Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, "Critic's Notebook: In 'Marjorie Prime,' Lois Smith Gets Her Greatest Screen Role," 27 Nov. 2017 There are no words to describe the piercing loss Winchester felt on the worst day of his life. — Vahe Gregorian, kansascity, "Forgiveness and faith buoy Chiefsā James Winchester through murder of his father," 22 Sep. 2017 One of the first instances of body art practitioners asking to be regulated was in Florida, where a piercing law was enacted in 1999 with input from the industry. — Marsha Mercer, Washington Post, "How safe and sanitary is ābody artā? Laws regulating tattoos, piercing vary widely.," 25 June 2017 But Cornell still emerged as one of alternative-rockās ultimate heartthrobs for his long, curly hair, fondness for going shirtless and piercing eyes. — Chris Macias, sacbee.com, "Why Gen X - and rockers everywhere - are mourning Chris Cornell," 18 May 2017 But his piercing skill was enough to instill fear in the Panamanian soccer team, which responded with brute force in a 1-1 draw with the United States on Tuesday night. — David Waldstein, New York Times, "Christian Pulisic of U.S. Becomes a Target, but Makes His Mark Anyway," 29 Mar. 2017 More muscles and more lustrous hair and more piercing eyes. — Kenzie Bryant, Vanities, "Jon Hamm Wants to Prove How Many Beautiful People Are Funny, Too," 19 June 2017Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images At its peak in the 1990s, Claireās did millions of piercings a year, and had over 1,000 locations. — Kaitlyn Tiffany, Vox, "As if Claireās needed any more problems, ādisruptionā is coming for ear-piercing.," 24 July 2019 Unlike body piercings or tattoos, which have standards in most states, implanting a magnet or an RFID chip into your arm is at-your-own-risk. — Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, "Why This Software Engineer Implanted a Tesla Valet Key Into Her Arm," 14 Aug. 2019 Besides dentures, retainers, loose teeth and tongue piercings can cause problems, said Peterson, who is president-elect of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. — NBC News, "A man's missing dentures were found stuck in his throat 8 days after surgery," 13 Aug. 2019 Besides dentures, retainers, loose teeth and tongue piercings can cause problems, said Peterson, who is president-elect of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. — Carla K. Johnson, USA TODAY, "His dentures went missing after surgery. He found them lodged in his throat, 8 days later.," 12 Aug. 2019 Investigators said Strampel's work computer contained photos of nude and semi-nude young women with Michigan State logo piercings or clothing. — CBS News, "Ex-dean at Michigan State University with oversight of Larry Nassar gets jail time," 7 Aug. 2019 The image shows a piercing hazel eye against a backdrop of snowy white feathers, the birdās signature black marking swathed like kohl over its brow. — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "Audubon Photography Award Winners Show the Breathtaking Beauty of Wild Birds," 16 July 2019 The defensive duty still allows her to join the attack, overlapping on the flank to cross into the penalty area and to make piercing runs. — Steven Goff, baltimoresun.com, "At left back, Crystal Dunn is getting it right for USWNT at World Cup," 4 July 2019 Tash has become a pioneer in the jewelry and piercing industry, and has changed the piercing game by modernizing and elevating piercing jewelry with a variety of precious metals, stones, and finer gauges, and more importantly, self-expression. — Teen Vogue, "Celebrity Piercer and Jewelry Designer Maria Tash Is Opening A Pop-Up in LA," 27 Mar. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'piercing.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for piercing
piercing
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of piercing
(Entry 1 of 2)
: seeming to have the power to see a person's thoughts or feelings
: very loud and high-pitched
: having a strong affect on someone : felt in a very noticeable way
piercing
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of piercing (Entry 2 of 2)
: the act or practice of decorating your body with jewelry or other objects that are attached directly to your skin
: a hole through part of the body where a piece of jewelry can be attached
See the full definition for piercing in the English Language Learners Dictionary
piercing
adjective
piercĀ·ing
| \ Ėpir-siÅ\
Kids Definition of piercing
1
: able to penetrate
a piercing wind a piercing look
2
: loud and high-pitched
piercing cries