pricks 1 of 2

noun

plural of prick
1
as in punctures
a mark or small hole made by a pointed instrument the immunization shot left a prick on my arm that turned into a bruise

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in pains
a sharp unpleasant sensation usually felt in some specific part of the body she felt a sharp prick when the nurse gave her the shot

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

pricks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of prick
as in holes

Related Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pricks
  1. punctures
  2. pains
  3. holes
  4. punches
  5. pangs
  6. prickles
  7. tingles
  8. bores
Noun
  • Officers arrived at Harrison's room at the Great Wolf Lodge and noticed bleeding cuts on her left wrist and superficial punctures on her neck, the criminal complaint said.
    — Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Lemmo Lemmo's gone with a 960-Wh semi-solid state battery, which reportedly allows for up to 110 miles (180 km) of range and won't go up in flames from punctures or thermal runaway incidents.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of punctures
Noun
  • In the past, Fox News has taken pains to illustrate to its viewers how the election could tilt blue.
    — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Symptoms usually begin within two weeks and can last nearly three weeks, including aches and pains, nausea and rashes.
    — Angie DiMichele, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of pains
Verb
  • What Skunk Burrows Look Like For a larger animal, holes that skunks dig while foraging are relatively small.
    — Michelle Mastro, Martha Stewart, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Fill ruts, depressions, and holes with topsoil and either turf or plants.
    — Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of holes
Noun
  • The farm offers a punch card to residents for $18 and is good for up to 14 punches or around 21 bags of debris.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Hadribeaj attacked the body early, crouching beneath Fundora’s punches and landing looping shots over the top.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of punches
Noun
  • Dining in the lounge is available all day to cater to international hunger pangs that don’t follow the same schedule as those of Spaniards.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Now, the new smaller version is available for hunger pangs between meals as many consumers are replacing traditional meals with snacks throughout the day, according to Datassential.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of pangs
Verb
  • An awareness of absent ancestors prickles through her writing, but at the same time, her fictional worlds feel solid and present.
    — Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026
Definition of prickles
Noun
  • Researchers suggested that future studies should include people who actually experience tingles to better understand how ASMR might help with mental health and relaxation.
    — Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
Definition of tingles
Verb
  • As its name suggests, the beetle bores into trees, drilling tunnels to create breeding galleries.
    — Jack Bantock, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The caterpillar bores into the stem through a tiny hole and tunnels inside the plant destroying tissue.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 17 June 2026
Definition of bores
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.

Browse Nearby Words

prickly
pricks
pricks up one's ears
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All