- present participle of pierce.
piercing
Americanadjective
-
loud or shrill, as the quality of a voice.
- Synonyms:
- screeching, strident, grating
-
extremely cold or bitter.
a piercing wind.
-
appearing to gaze deeply or penetratingly into something.
piercing eyes.
-
perceptive or aware; acute.
a piercing mind.
-
sarcastic or caustic; cutting.
piercing remarks.
-
having an unpleasantly intense quality or effect.
a piercing drought.
noun
-
piercings
plural
-
an act or instance of making a hole or opening in something.
The cleverly engineered design allows for a safe and smooth piercing of the hose for an easy, watertight installation.
-
the practice or technique of puncturing a body part so that jewelry can be inserted.
The shop is super clean and they're obviously experts in piercing.
-
a hole or opening made by puncturing: An infected navel piercing can usually be treated with antibiotics.
The five wall piercings were possibly a reference to the Five Holy Wounds of Christ.
An infected navel piercing can usually be treated with antibiotics.
-
a ring, stud, or other piece of jewelry inserted through a hole in a body part.
He wears five silver piercings on his ears.
adjective
-
(of a sound) sharp and shrill
-
(of eyes or a look) intense and penetrating
-
(of an emotion) strong and deeply affecting
-
(of cold or wind) intense or biting
noun
-
the art or practice of piercing body parts for the insertion of jewellery
-
an instance of the piercing of a body part
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of piercing
Explanation
Piercing means loud or intense, like the piercing scream of the heroine in a horror movie or the piercing cold of the wind on a frigid February morning. The adjective piercing comes from pierce, which means to poke a hole in something with a sharp object. If you've had your ears pierced, you get the idea. Things that are piercing are figuratively sharp, like a piercing look from an angry teacher, the piercing cold of the ocean, or the piercing sound of your smoke detector. There's also a shrewdness or intelligence that can be described as piercing: "The piercing insight in your book report was impressive."
Vocabulary lists containing piercing
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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The Diary of Anne Frank
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The Devil's Arithmetic
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Blending Yoruba, Catholic and mystical traditions, their photos feature jet-black subjects that blend into inky backgrounds, their eyes piercing the darkness as they stare at the viewer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
In a four-star review, external, the Times noted how Heaton's "casually funny" and "deceptively piercing" latest album "again confirms his gift for dissecting human weakness with an unsentimental but humane eye".
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
She returned to skating in 2024 on her own terms, with a new look that included a halo hairstyle and a “smiley” piercing in the tissue connecting her upper lip to her gums.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
But just then, a piercing pink light appears outside, and a low, opaque mist begins to creep through the seams of your tent.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
Two’s red eyes shined with a fear so piercing, it sent a shiver up Clare’s spine.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Women in headscarves and long coats share the sidewalk with groups of young men and women in baggy jeans with body piercings and tattoos.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
During opening remarks, she told Brendan Shannon, the Wilmington, Del., judge overseeing the case, that she and her friends flocked there for piercings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2025
She also opted to get additional ear piercings for the series.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2025
What about in vitro fertilization treatments or ear piercings?
From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2025
The piercings were the straw that got her thrown out of that foster home.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
