Printer Friendly
The Free Dictionary
989,912,124 visitors served.
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

nettle

   Also found in: Medical, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
net·tle  (ntl)
n.
1. Any of numerous plants of the genus Urtica, having toothed leaves, unisexual apetalous flowers, and stinging hairs that cause skin irritation on contact.
2. Any of various hairy, stinging, or prickly plants.
tr.v. net·tled, net·tling, net·tles
1. To sting with or as if with a nettle.
2. To irritate; vex.

[Middle English, from Old English netele; see ned- in Indo-European roots.]

nettle
Noun
1. a plant with stinging hairs on the leaves
2. grasp the nettle to attempt something unpleasant with boldness and courage [Old English netele]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.nettlenettle - any of numerous plants having stinging hairs that cause skin irritation on contact (especially of the genus Urtica or family Urticaceae)
stinging nettle, Urtica dioica - perennial Eurasian nettle established in North America having broad coarsely toothed leaves with copious stinging hairs
Roman nettle, Urtica pipulifera - annual European nettle with stinging foliage and small clusters of green flowers
Laportea canadensis, wood nettle - American perennial herb found in rich woods and provided with stinging hairs; provides fibers used for textiles
clearweed, Pilea pumilla, richweed, dead nettle - a plants of the genus Pilea having drooping green flower clusters and smooth translucent stems and leaves
artillery plant, Pilea microphylla - tropical American stingless nettle that discharges its pollen explosively
friendship plant, panamica, panamiga, Pilea involucrata - low stingless nettle of Central and South America having velvety brownish-green toothed leaves and clusters of small green flowers
weed - any plant that crowds out cultivated plants
Verb1.nettlenettle - sting with or as with nettles and cause a stinging pain or sensation
sting, bite, burn - cause a sharp or stinging pain or discomfort; "The sun burned his face"
urticate - whip with or as with nettles
2.nettlenettle - cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations; "Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me"; "It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves"
get under one's skin, get - irritate; "Her childish behavior really get to me"; "His lying really gets me"
eat into, rankle, grate, fret - gnaw into; make resentful or angry; "The injustice rankled her"; "his resentment festered"
chafe - feel extreme irritation or anger; "He was chafing at her suggestion that he stay at home while she went on a vacation"
peeve - cause to be annoyed, irritated, or resentful
ruffle - trouble or vex; "ruffle somebody's composure"
fret - cause annoyance in
beset, chevvy, chevy, chivvy, chivy, harass, harry, hassle, molest, plague, provoke - annoy continually or chronically; "He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked"; "This man harasses his female co-workers"
antagonize, antagonise - provoke the hostility of; "Don't antagonize your boss"
displease - give displeasure to

nettle
verb irritate, provoke, annoy, gall, sting, aggravate (informal) incense, ruffle, exasperate, vex, goad, pique, get on your nerves (informal) nark Brit., Austral., N.Z. (slang) hack you off (informal)
Translations
Spanish nettle [ˈnɛtl] nortiga
French nettle [ˈnɛtl] nortie f
German nettle [ˈnɛtl] nNessel f;
to grasp the nettle (fig) → in den sauren Apfel beißen

Italian nettle [ˈnɛtl] nortica

?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Then he shot the arrow and fell back and would have died, but he lit on a nettle and sprang up too gaily for a corpse.
Climbing plants are monstrous and luxuriant, but others which have never been known to climb elsewhere learn the art as an escape from that somber shadow, so that the common nettle, the jasmine, and even the jacitara palm tree can be seen circling the stems of the cedars and striving to reach their crowns.
The sensation was as bad as that from a nettle, but more like that caused by the Physalia or Portuguese man-of-war.
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.