prickling 1 of 2

adjective

as in stinging

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prickling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of prickle
as in poking
to cause or experience an unpleasant feeling that is like the feeling of having many small, sharp points against your skin The burrs were prickling my arm. The wool sweater prickled my skin.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of prickling
Verb
Initial symptoms of rabies include flu-like illness including weakness or discomfort, fever, or headache, and discomfort, prickling, or an itching sensation at the site of the bite. — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 3 Aug. 2026 As Luke walks off, his shirt undone and his furry belly prickling in the desert cold, Danny turns and stares out into the backyard. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026 Retatrutide has shown similar side effects, as well as a prickling sensation known as dysesthesia. — Meg Tirrell, CNN Money, 19 Mar. 2026 People with peripheral neuropathy may experience pins and needles sensations, such as tingling and prickling, in their extremities. — Laura Dorwart, Health, 22 Dec. 2025 It is spread to people and pets through the bites and scratches of an infected animal, and first symptoms may include flu, weakness, discomfort, fever, headache, as well as a prickling sensation at the site of the wound, before turning into more severe disease after around two weeks. — Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025 Whitefish salad prickling with chile and festooned with great tufts of cilantro. — Bon Appétit Staff & Contributors, Bon Appetit Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025 Jakobus speaks in an Old World dialect, Pilsner, delivering brisk herbal aromas, hints of fresh levain bread and a prickling hop bitterness. — Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prickling
  1. stinging
  2. poking
  3. nagging
  4. piercing
  5. bleeding
  6. tingling
  7. burning
  8. penetrating
Adjective
  • Mungiu craftily plants the seed of this crisis in his opening shot, set in the aftermath of a stinging act of parental discipline.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026
  • At an early New York screening, Douglas recalls Wall Street traders being stunned by the film’s stinging accuracy.
    — Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of stinging
Verb
  • Sometimes only the tips of the reeds and the seed heads were visible, poking above the murky water, and other times the reeds stood fully exposed, with a clear view of crabs clambering around their bases.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Video posted to social media showed one car nearly submerged, with just its sunroof poking above the water, as people moved other vehicles farther from the rising tides.
    — Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of poking
Adjective
  • Some of Ohtani's offensive slump can be traced to nagging injuries that limited him to just 139 games in the regular season.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026
  • But a nagging calf injury sidelined him throughout training camp, the preseason and the start of the regular season.
    — Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of nagging
Verb
  • The individual who inflicted the fatal injury drove the spear downward through the victim’s left chest cavity from the front, piercing major arteries and the lungs before creating the hole in the left scapula.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 Oct. 2026
  • An argument between children over a pizza slice escalated into a 10-year-old girl having a knife thrown at her chest, piercing her skin, by her 8-year-old brother Thursday, police said.
    — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of piercing
Adjective
  • Dickerson was the first physician to treat Mike Studeny, who was diagnosed with a non-bleeding stroke.
    — Christa Swanson, CBS News, 9 May 2026
  • In tests using mice, after surgical damage to the liver, AGCL was able to perform significantly better than other current anti-bleeding agents, with normal liver function returning just two weeks after its application.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 21 Jan. 2026
Definition of bleeding
Verb
  • The victim went to the campus health clinic in August with worsening finger tingling and numbness, and leg weakness.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Professor says the victim is still experiencing symptoms The alleged victim went to the campus health clinic in August with worsening finger tingling and numbness, and leg weakness.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of tingling
Adjective
  • Prosecutors said some of the money was used for recruiting new members and purchasing Ku Klux Klan robes and materials for cross-burning ceremonies.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 July 2026
  • In the case of the cross-burning incident, there is no comparison to the Jussie Smollett case.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2026
Definition of burning
Verb
  • From the lunar surface, GIMLI will gather data using ground-penetrating radar, seismic sensors and a gravimeter to better understand what's really happening underneath the surface.
    — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Related Articles Researchers subsequently examined aerial photographs of the area and began conducting noninvasive magnetic and ground-penetrating radar surveys.
    — Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of penetrating

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Cite this Entry

“Prickling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prickling. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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