pricking

American  

[prik-ing] / ˈprɪk ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that pricks.

2. a prickly or smarting sensation.

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Etymology

Origin of pricking

before 1000; Middle English; Old English pricung; prick, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

And in my head I was already trotting off, looking for that stick, even though I could smell the stink and the thorns were pricking me.

From Literature

My nails had grown back, and whenever I brushed my face with my fingers, I could feel hair pricking through the skin on my chin and cheeks.

From Literature

It is only then, once you are still, that a now low, whipping wind, riddled with sand begins pricking and abrading your skin and collecting in the pages of your novel; it is intolerable.

From Salon

Blood obtained by pricking a baby’s heel was collected on filter paper and tested for phenylketonuria, a rare metabolic condition that, if untreated, causes intellectual disability.

From Scientific American

The researchers found that people carrying three so-called Neanderthal variants in the gene SCN9A, which is implicated in sensory neurons, are more sensitive to pain from skin pricking after prior exposure to mustard oil.

From Science Daily