stung

[ stuhng ]

/ stʌŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stung ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

a simple past tense and past participle of sting.

Nearby words

Related formsun·stung, adjective

sting

[ sting ]

/ stɪŋ /

verb (used with object), stung or (Obsolete) stang; stung; sting·ing.

to prick or wound with a sharp-pointed, often venom-bearing organ.

to affect painfully or irritatingly as a result of contact, as certain plants do: to be stung by nettles.

to cause to smart or to cause a sharp pain: The blowing sand stung his eyes.

to cause mental or moral anguish: to be stung with remorse.

to goad or drive, as by sharp irritation.

Slang. to cheat or take advantage of, especially to overcharge; soak.

verb (used without object), stung or (Obsolete) stang; stung; sting·ing.

to use, have, or wound with a sting, as bees.

to cause a sharp, smarting pain, as some plants, an acrid liquid or gas, or a slap or hit.

to cause acute mental pain or irritation, as annoying thoughts or one's conscience: The memory of that insult still stings.

to feel acute mental pain or irritation: He was stinging from the blow to his pride.

to feel a smarting pain, as from a blow or the sting of an insect.

noun

an act or an instance of stinging.

a wound, pain, or smart caused by stinging.

any sharp physical or mental wound, hurt, or pain.

anything or an element in anything that wounds, pains, or irritates: to feel the sting of defeat; Death, where is thy sting?

capacity to wound or pain: Satire has a sting.

a sharp stimulus or incitement: driven by the sting of jealousy; the sting of ambition.

Botany. a glandular hair on certain plants, as nettles, that emits an irritating fluid.

Zoology. any of various sharp-pointed, often venom-bearing organs of insects and other animals capable of inflicting painful or dangerous wounds.

Slang.

confidence game.
an ostensibly illegal operation, as the buying of stolen goods or the bribing of public officials, used by undercover investigators to collect evidence of wrongdoing.

Origin of sting

before 900; (v.) Middle English stingen, Old English stingan to pierce; cognate with Old Norse stinga to pierce, Gothic -stangan (in usstangan to pull out); (noun) Middle English sting(e), Old English: act of stinging, derivative of the v.

Related forms

sting·ing·ly, adverbsting·less, adjectiveout·sting, verb (used with object), out·stung, out·sting·ing.re·sting, verb, re·stung, re·sting·ing.

un·sting·ing, adjectiveun·sting·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for stung

Comforting in that they show that our intended message hit the target and stung.
CIA Director’s Trip to Kiev Was a Warning to Putin|Leslie H. Gelb|April 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Still, the criticisms have stung, particularly in the age of post-Mitt Romney Mormon mainstreaming.
The Core Mormon Teaching the LDS Church Didn’t Jettison|Jay Michaelson|April 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Still, as Lennon/McCartney got increasingly arty, Harrison was stung and he began chasing.
What It Was Like to Watch the Beatles Become the Beatles—Nik Cohn Remembers|Nik Cohn|February 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That stung, and when McConnell approached Reid late Monday to strike a deal, he was rebuffed.
John McCain to the Rescue as Senate Deal Breaks Nominee Logjam|Eleanor Clift|July 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Stung by the poor reviews of his thriller Liberty Two, Lipsyte was lugging a bigger canister of dynamite.
On the Peninsula|Bryan Curtis|April 25, 2011|DAILY BEAST
I have noticed a bird swallow a bee alive, and have also seen one stung, but no ill effects resulted.
Wild Ducks|W. Coape Oates
He took it up, carrying it gingerly, as if it stung, and dropped it on the fire.
The Creators|May Sinclair
Buffeted by pounding seas and stung with flying spray, they fought a typhoon with me off the coast of Japan.
The Road|Jack London
"We are no cowards, Baron Heckscher," I replied warmly, as if stung by his taunt.
A Dash .. .. .. For a Throne|Arthur W. Marchmont
It was with an effort that he could bring out the words; they stung him as they passed his lips.
A Sister of the Red Cross|Mrs. L. T. Meade

British Dictionary definitions for stung

stung

/ (stʌŋ) /

verb

the past tense and past participle of sting

adjective

Australian slang drunk; intoxicated

sting

/ (stɪŋ) /

verb stings, stinging or stung

(of certain animals and plants) to inflict a wound on (an organism) by the injection of poison

to feel or cause to feel a sharp mental or physical pain

(tr) to goad or incite (esp in the phrase sting into action)

(tr) informal to cheat, esp by overcharging

noun

a skin wound caused by the poison injected by certain insects or plants

pain caused by or as if by the sting of a plant or animal

a mental pain or panga sting of conscience

a sharp pointed organ, such as the ovipositor of a wasp, by which poison can be injected into the prey

the ability to stinga sharp sting in his criticism

something as painful or swift of action as a stingthe sting of death

a sharp stimulus or incitement

botany another name for stinging hair

slang a swindle or fraud

slang a trap set up by the police to entice a person to commit a crime and thereby produce evidence

sting in the tail an unexpected and unpleasant ending

Derived Formsstinging, adjectivestingingly, adverbstingingness, noun

Word Origin for sting

Old English stingan; related to Old Norse stinga to pierce, Gothic usstangan to pluck out, Greek stakhus ear of corn

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for stung

sting

Old English stingan "to prick with a small point" (of weapons, insects, plants, etc.), from Proto-Germanic *stenganan (cf. Old Norse stinga, Old High German stungen "to prick," Gothic us-stagg "to prick out," Old High German stanga, German stange "pole, perch," German stengel "stalk, stem"), from PIE *stengh-, nasalized form of root *stegh- "to prick, sting" (cf. Old English stagga "stag," Greek stokhos "pointed stake"). Specialized to insects late 15c. Slang meaning "to cheat, swindle" is from 1812.

sting

Old English stincg, steng "act of stinging, stinging pain," from the root of sting (v.). Meaning "carefully planned theft or robbery" is attested from 1930; sense of "police undercover entrapment" first attested 1975.

Medicine definitions for stung

sting

[ stĭng ]

v.

To pierce or wound painfully with or as if with a sharp-pointed structure or organ, as that of certain insects.

To introduce venom by stinging.

To cause to feel a sharp smarting pain by or as if by pricking with a sharp point.

n.

The act of stinging.

The wound or pain caused by or as if by stinging.

The venom apparatus of a stinging organism.

Idioms and Phrases with stung

sting

see take the sting out of.

stung

verb

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

sting

verb (used with object), stung or (Obsolete) stang; stung; sting·ing.

verb (used without object), stung or (Obsolete) stang; stung; sting·ing.

noun

Origin of sting

Examples from the Web for stung

stung

verb

adjective

sting

verb stings, stinging or stung

noun

Word Origin for sting

sting

sting

sting

v.

n.

sting