- 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:
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
In a fire, any person expects to hear the piercing blare of a smoke alarm, yet not a single detector sounded that night.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
First a rumbling roar, followed by a humming, and then a softer sort of whistling noise, piercing enough to make Thor’s head ache and his teeth hurt each time he heard it.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
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
You should think about overhauling your portfolio the way people should—but often don’t—decide about adding tattoos or body piercings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
What about in vitro fertilization treatments or ear piercings?
From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2025
Thanos, the Internet-bred Alpha male flanked by two sad little hype men, steps up to the young woman with facial piercings and a don’t-mess-with-me attitude, expecting to be worshipped.
From Salon ● Jan. 5, 2025
I saw nose, cheek, eyebrow, and chin piercings.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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.
