take the sting out of
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The exiles thought they finally would be allowed to return home, or at least get enough cash to take the sting out of their displacement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
Some extra incentive to file your taxes: That refund money could take the sting out of your next trip to the gas station.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026
Investors will hope that an uptick in Singapore will take the sting out of the weakness in Macau.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026
The bank held off on any unscheduled returning of excess capital to shareholders, following a 750 million pound buyback in July that helped take the sting out of disappointing half-year results.
From Reuters ● Oct. 24, 2023
"Nothing like a story to take the sting out of things," she adds cooly.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
