sting

sting  (stng)

v. stung (stng), sting·ing, stings

v.tr.

1. To pierce or wound painfully with or as if with a sharp-pointed structure or organ, as that of certain insects.

2. To cause to feel a sharp, smarting pain by or as if by pricking with a sharp point: smoke stinging our eyes.

3. To cause to suffer keenly in the mind or feelings: Those harsh words stung me bitterly.

4. To spur on by or as if by sharp irritation.

5. Slang To cheat or overcharge.

v.intr.

1. To have, use, or wound with or as if with a sharp-pointed structure or organ, as that of certain insects.

2. To cause or feel a sharp, smarting pain.

n.

1. The act of stinging.

2. The wound or pain caused by or as if by stinging.

3. A sharp, piercing organ or part, often ejecting a venomous secretion, as the modified ovipositor of a bee or wasp or the spine of certain fishes.

4. A stinging power, quality, or capacity.

5. A keen stimulus or incitement; a goad or spur: the sting of curiosity.

6. Slang A complicated confidence game planned and executed with great care, especially an operation organized and implemented by undercover agents to apprehend criminals.

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[Middle English stingen, from Old English stingan; see stegh- in Indo-European roots.]

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stinging·ly adv.

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sting [stɪŋ]

vb stings, stinging, stung

1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Biology) (of certain animals and plants) to inflict a wound on (an organism) by the injection of poison

2. to feel or cause to feel a sharp mental or physical pain

3. (tr) to goad or incite (esp in the phrase sting into action)

4. (tr) Informal to cheat, esp by overcharging

n

1. (Medicine / Pathology) a skin wound caused by the poison injected by certain insects or plants

2. (Medicine / Pathology) pain caused by or as if by the sting of a plant or animal

3. a mental pain or pang a sting of conscience

4. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Zoology) a sharp pointed organ, such as the ovipositor of a wasp, by which poison can be injected into the prey

5. the ability to sting a sharp sting in his criticism

6. something as painful or swift of action as a sting the sting of death

7. a sharp stimulus or incitement

8. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Botany) Botany another name for stinging hair

9. Slang a swindle or fraud

10. (Law) Slang a trap set up by the police to entice a person to commit a crime and thereby produce evidence

sting in the tail an unexpected and unpleasant ending

[Old English stingan; related to Old Norse stinga to pierce, Gothic usstangan to pluck out, Greek stakhus ear of corn]

stinging  adj

stingingly  adv

stingingness  n

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	sting - a kind of pain; something as sudden and painful as being stung; "the sting of death"; "he felt the stinging of nettles" stinging hurting, pain - a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder; "the patient developed severe pain and distension"
	2.	sting - a mental pain or distress; "a pang of conscience" pang hurting, pain - a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder; "the patient developed severe pain and distension"
	3.	sting - a painful wound caused by the thrust of an insect's stinger into skin insect bite, bite harm, hurt, injury, trauma - any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc. bee sting - a sting inflicted by a bee flea bite - sting inflicted by a flea mosquito bite - a sting inflicted by a mosquito
	4.	sting - a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property bunco, bunco game, bunko, bunko game, con game, confidence game, confidence trick, flimflam, gyp, hustle, con sting operation - a complicated confidence game planned and executed with great care (especially an operation implemented by undercover agents to apprehend criminals) swindle, cheat, rig - the act of swindling by some fraudulent scheme; "that book is a fraud"
Verb	1.	sting - cause a sharp or stinging pain or discomfort; "The sun burned his face" bite, burn nettle, urticate - sting with or as with nettles and cause a stinging pain or sensation burn - feel hot or painful; "My eyes are burning" hurt, smart, ache - be the source of pain
	2.	sting - deliver a sting to; "A bee stung my arm yesterday" bite, prick pierce - make a hole into; "The needle pierced her flesh"
	3.	sting - saddle with something disagreeable or disadvantageous; "They stuck me with the dinner bill"; "I was stung with a huge tax bill" stick force, thrust - impose urgently, importunately, or inexorably; "She forced her diet fads on him"
	4.	sting - cause a stinging pain; "The needle pricked his skin" twinge, prick ache, hurt, suffer - feel physical pain; "Were you hurting after the accident?" prickle, prick - cause a prickling sensation
	5.	sting - cause an emotional pain, as if by stinging; "His remark stung her" spite, wound, bruise, injure, offend, hurt - hurt the feelings of; "She hurt me when she did not include me among her guests"; "This remark really bruised my ego"

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sting

verb

1. hurt, burn, wound, nip, prick, bite The nettles stung their legs.

2. smart, burn, pain, hurt, tingle His cheeks were stinging from the icy wind.

3. anger, provoke, infuriate, incense, gall, inflame, nettle, rile, pique Some of the criticism has really stung him.

noun

1. prick, injury, wound, puncture Remove the bee sting with tweezers.

2. smarting, pain, stinging, pricking, soreness, prickling This won't hurt - you will just feel a little sting.

3. fraud, swindle, cheat, trickery, sharp practice, piece of deception a sting set by the FBI

4. sharpness, spite, bite, punch, severity, sarcasm, acrimony, mordancy The sting of those words had festered in Roderick's mind.

Related words
fear cnidophobia

Translations

sting [stɪŋ] (stung (vb: pt, pp))

A. N

1. (Zool, Bot) (= organ) → aguijón m
but there's a sting in the tail → pero viene algo no tan agradable al final

2. (= act, wound) [of insect, nettle] → picadura f; (= sharp pain) → punzada f
a sting of remorse → el gusanillo de la conciencia
the sting of the rain in one's face → el azote de la lluvia en la cara
I felt the sting of his irony → su ironía me hirió en lo vivo
to take the sting out of sth → restar fuerza a algo

3. (esp US) (= confidence trick) → timo m

B. VT

1. [insect, nettle] → picar; (= make smart) → escocer, picar, arder(esp LAm); [hail] → azotar

2. (fig) [conscience] → remorder; [remark, criticism] → herir
my conscience stung me → me remordió la conciencia
the reply stung him to the quick → la respuesta lo hirió en lo vivo
he was clearly stung by this remark → era evidente que este comentario hizo mella en él

3. (= provoke) he was stung into action → lo provocaron a actuar

4. they stung me for four pounds → me clavaron cuatro libras
how much did they sting you for? → ¿cuánto te clavaron?

C. VI

1. [insect etc] → picar
moths don't sting → las mariposas no pican

2. my eyes sting → me pican los ojos
that blow really stung → ese golpe me dolió de verdad

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sting [ˈstɪŋ]

vb [stung] [ˈstʌŋ] (pt, pp)

vt

[insect, plant] → piquer
I've been stung → J'ai été piqué.

[ointment, smoke, tears] → piquer

[remark, criticism, harsh words] → piquer au vif

vi

[insect, plant] → piquer

[ointment, iodine] → piquer

[blow, slap] → être cuisant(e)

[eyes, skin, cut] → piquer
My eyes are stinging → J'ai les yeux qui piquent.

n

(= organ) → dard m
This is not a worker bee, it has no sting → Ce n'est pas une abeille ouvrière, elle n'a pas de dard.

(= wound) → piqûre f
Bee stings can be painful → Les piqûres d'abeilles peuvent être douloureuses.

(= pain) → piqûre f
This won't hurt, you'll just feel a little sting → Cela ne fera pas mal, vous sentirez juste une petite piqûre.

(= confidence trick) → arnaque m >

(also sting operation) (= set-up) → mise fen scène, guet-apens m

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sting vb: pret, ptp <stung>

n

(Zool, Bot: = organ, of insect) → Stachel m; (of jellyfish) → Brennfaden m; (of nettle) → Brennhaar nt

(of insect: = act, wound) → Stich m; (of nettle, jellyfish, = act) → Brennen nt; (= wound) → Quaddel f

(= pain, from needle etc) → Stechen nt, → stechender Schmerz; (of antiseptic, ointment, from nettle etc) → Brennen nt; (of whip) → brennender Schmerz; there might be a bit of a sting → das brennt jetzt vielleicht ein bisschen; we felt the sting of the hail on our faces → wir spürten den Hagel wie Nadeln im Gesicht

(fig, of remark, irony) → Stachel m; (of attack, criticism etc) → Schärfe f; a sting of remorse → Gewissensbisse pl; to take the sting out of something → etw entschärfen; (out of remark, criticism also) → einer Sache (dat) → den Stachel nehmen; to have a sting in its tail (story, film) → ein unerwartet fatales Ende nehmen; (remark) → gesalzen sein; death, where now thy sting? → Tod, wo ist dein Stachel?

vt

(insect) → stechen; (jellyfish) → verbrennen; she was stung by the nettles → sie hat sich an den Nesseln verbrannt

the hail stung our faces → der Hagel stach uns wie mit Nadeln im Gesicht

(comments, sarcasm etc) → treffen, schmerzen; (remorse, conscience) → quälen; he was stung by their insults → ihre Beleidigungen haben ihn sehr getroffen or geschmerzt; to sting somebody into doing something → jdn antreiben, etw zu tun; he was stung into replying → er ließ sich dazu hinreißen zu antworten; to sting somebody into action → jdn aktiv werden lassen

(inf) to sting somebody for something → jdn bei etw ausnehmen (inf) → or schröpfen (inf); could I sting you for a fiver? → kann ich dir einen Fünfer abknöpfen? (inf)

vi

(insect) → stechen; (nettle, jellyfish etc) → brennen; (= burn: eyes, cut, ointment etc) → brennen; smoke makes your eyes sting → Rauch brennt in den Augen

(hail etc) → wie mit Nadeln stechen

(comments, sarcasm etc) → schmerzen

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sting [stɪŋ] (stung (vb: pt, pp))

1. n (Zool) → pungiglione m (Bot) → pelo urticante; (pain, mark) → puntura; (of iodine, antiseptic) → bruciore m
to take the sting out of sth (fig) → rendere qc meno pungente
but there was a sting in the tail (fig) → ma c'era una spiacevole sorpresa

2. vt

a. (subj, insect, nettle) → pungere; (jellyfish) → pizzicare; (iodine) → bruciare; (cold wind) → tagliare (fig) (remark, criticism) → pungere sul vivo
he was stung into action → fu spronato all'azione
she was stung by remorse → fu presa dal rimorso

b. (fam) they stung me for £40 → mi hanno scucito 40 sterline

3. vi (iodine) → bruciare; (remark, criticism) → ferire
my eyes are stinging → mi bruciano gli occhi

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sting [stɪŋ] (stung (vb: pt, pp))

1. n (Zool) → pungiglione m (Bot) → pelo urticante; (pain, mark) → puntura; (of iodine, antiseptic) → bruciore m
to take the sting out of sth (fig) → rendere qc meno pungente
but there was a sting in the tail (fig) → ma c'era una spiacevole sorpresa

2. vt

a. (subj, insect, nettle) → pungere; (jellyfish) → pizzicare; (iodine) → bruciare; (cold wind) → tagliare (fig) (remark, criticism) → pungere sul vivo
he was stung into action → fu spronato all'azione
she was stung by remorse → fu presa dal rimorso

b. (fam) they stung me for £40 → mi hanno scucito 40 sterline

3. vi (iodine) → bruciare; (remark, criticism) → ferire
my eyes are stinging → mi bruciano gli occhi

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sting

n sting [stiŋ]

1 a part of some plants, insects etc, eg nettles and wasps, that can prick and inject an irritating or poisonous fluid into the wound. angel إبْرَه жила žihadlo hår; brod der Stachel κεντρί aguijón astel خار piikki piquant, dard עוֹקֶץ डंक, दंश žalac, bodljika fullánk sengat broddur pungiglione, aculeo とげ 침 geluonis dzelonis sengat angel brodd; neslehår żądło ferrão ac (la unele insecte/plante) жгучий волосок; жало žihadlo bodica; želo žaoka gadd, brännhår แผลถูกแมลงกัดต่อย iğne 螫針，刺 жало ڈنک vòi, răng độc 螫针，刺

2 an act of piercing with this part Some spiders give a poisonous sting. steek لَسْع، لَدْغ жилене bodnutí stik der Stich, der Biß τσίμπημα picadura torge نيش pisto piqûre עֲקִיצָה डंक मारना žacanje, ubod csípés sengatan stunga puntura 刺すこと 쏨 įgėlimas dzēliens sengatan steek stikk ukąszenie picada înţepătură ожог; укус bodnutie pik ubod stick, bett การต่อย sokma, ısırma 螫 укус ڈنک مارنے کا عمل sự đốt, sự châm 螫

3 the wound, swelling, or pain caused by this You can soothe a wasp sting by putting vinegar on it. steekwond لَسْعَه ожилване štípanec stik; -stik der Stich, der Biß τσίμπημα, τσούξιμο picadura torkehaav, valu جاي گزيدگي pistos piqûre עֲקִיצָה दर्द, टीस ubod, žestoka bol csípés sengatan stunga; flugnabit puntura 刺し傷 쏘인 상처 įgėlimas dzēlums sengatan steek stikk, svie, sviing ukąszenie picada înţepătură ожог; укус uštipnutie pik žestok bol stick, bett แผล sokma, ısırık (螫)痛(處) муки; гострий біль ڈنک لگنے سے ہونے والی سوجن یا درد sự đau nhói （螫）痛（处）

v – past tense, past participle stung [staŋ] –

1 to wound or hurt by means of a sting The child was badly stung by nettles/mosquitoes; Do those insects sting? steek يَلْسَع، يَلْدَغ ожилвам popálit, štípat stikke stechen κεντρίζω, τσιμπώ picar nõelama, kõrvetama نيش زدن pistää piquer לֲעֲקִוֹץ डंक लगना ubosti, bosti (meg)csíp menyengat stinga pungere 刺す 쏘다 įgelti []dzelt; sadzelt menyengat steken stikke kąsać picar a înţepa жалить (po)štípať pičiti ubosti sticka, bränna ต่อย sokmak, ısırmak 螫，刺 жалити; завдавати гострого болю ڈسنا châm, đốt 螫，刺

2 (of a wound, or a part of the body) to smart or be painful The salt water made his eyes sting. brand يُصيب بألَم حاد смъдя pálit svie brennen τσούζω escocer, picar, arder kipitama به درد آوردن kirvellä brûler לִצרוֹב जलन पैदा करना boljeti, peći ég (seb helye stb.) pedih svíða bruciare, dolere ひりひりさせる 아프게 하다 gelti, deginti, graužti grauzt; dzelt sakit branden svi, brenne piec arder a arde жечь; саднить páliť, štípať peči peckati svida ทำให้เจ็บปวด acımak, yakmak 刺痛 відчувати гострий біль شدید درد ہونا nhức nhối, đau đớn 刺痛

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sting → لدغة, يلدغ štípnout, štípnutí stik, stikke stechen, Stichwunde κεντρί, κεντρίζω aguijón, picar pistää, pisto piquer, piqûre ubod, ubosti pungere, puntura 刺し傷, 刺す 쏘다, 쏘인 상처 angel, steken stikk, stikke użądlić, żądło picada, picar жалить, укус (насекомого) sting, svida แผลถูกแมงกัดต่อย, กัด sokma, sokmak đốt, vết đốt 刺, 刺痛