stinging

English

Etymology

From Middle English styngyng; equivalent to sting +‎ -ing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɪŋɪŋ/
• Rhymes: -ɪŋɪŋ

Adjective

stinging (comparative more stinging, superlative most stinging)

1. Having the capacity to sting.

   stinging nettles

2. (figurative) Precise and hurtful.
   • 2017 September 27, David Browne, “Hugh Hefner, 'Playboy' Founder, Dead at 91”, in Rolling Stone:

     That same year, a young Gloria Steinem went undercover as a Playboy Bunny at one of his Playboy Clubs and wrote a stinging inside critique of the magazine's ethos and chauvinism in an article, titled "A Bunny's Tale," which was published in Show magazine.

Derived terms

• stinging catfish
• stingingly

Verb

stinging

1. present participle and gerund of sting
   • 1892, James Yoxall, chapter 5, in The Lonely Pyramid:

     The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. […] Drifts of yellow vapour, fiery, parching, stinging, filled the air.

Noun

stinging (plural stingings)

1. The act by which someone receives a sting.

   the stingings of scorpions

   stingings of remorse