tingle
Americanverb (used without object)
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tingles,
present (3rd person singular)
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tingled,
past participle, past
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tingling
present participle
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to have a sensation of slight prickles, stings, or tremors, as from cold, a sharp blow, excitement, etc..
I tingle all over.
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to cause such a sensation.
The scratch tingles.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tinglesimple
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tinglessimple
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have tingledperfect
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has tingledperfect
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am tinglingprogressive
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are tinglingprogressive
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is tinglingprogressive
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have been tinglingperfect progressive
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has been tinglingperfect progressive
Past
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tingledsimple
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had tingledperfect
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was tinglingprogressive
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were tinglingprogressive
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had been tinglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tingle
1350–1400; Middle English tinglen (v.), variant of tinkle
Explanation
When something tingles, it prickles or stings a tiny bit. Walking through a haunted house might make your skin tingle with fear. A cool breeze makes your skin tingle, and a pep rally might leave you tingling with excitement. Tingle can also call be used as a noun: a tingle is similar to a shiver or a shudder, a light sensation that may have an emotional or physical cause. An earlier meaning of tingle was "a ringing sensation or sound."
Vocabulary lists containing tingle
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:
Similarly, his cultural allusions no longer provoke even a tingle, let alone a shock of recognition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Cheesy words in normal circumstances, but that was the moment our spines began to tingle and we knew we were about to witness history.
From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2026
Even now, I remember the tingle down my spine as I read it, and my immediate thought afterward: This is going to shake the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2025
Scott Speedman is in it for the tingle.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2024
Something in his expression makes my scalp tingle.
From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell
“I have felt the energy running through my body like little tingles in spaces where I don’t usually feel that.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2025
If your skin tingles and hair stands on end, it means lightning is about to strike.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2024
Q: My right foot burns and tingles so badly that it’s hard to sleep.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 23, 2022
Kobie Boykins, a mechanical engineer who was instrumental in building the rovers, recalls getting tingles at Opportunity’s first steps.
From New York Times ● Nov. 3, 2022
It stings his eyes, and his skin tingles.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
He had a severe peripheral neuropathy that left his feet mostly numb, though occasionally they burned and tingled as if they were asleep.
From New York Times ● Nov. 30, 2022
“As kids we used to hold these 9-volt batteries to our tongues and it tingled, that’s roughly how you have to imagine this,” Lierz says.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 8, 2022
"At that point, the ‘spidey senses’ tingled a little bit."
From Fox News ● Oct. 22, 2021
It kept going and going, long after one of the prettiest 63s anybody ever saw had concluded, until it tingled both the back end of the golf course and the back end of the neck.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 20, 2019
Her skin tingled, and she lit a candle before approaching the wall.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
The tingling in my face has largely disappeared, but my walking has become increasingly difficult over the years.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
"I am absolutely slathered up in deep heat right now, my legs are tingling," said England's Amy Hunt after securing silver in the 100m.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Some develop numbness or tingling in their hands and feet, poor balance, memory problems or what many describe as “brain fog”.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026
Fatigue, joint pain, rashes, brain fog or tingling in the hands and feet can seem like normal signs of aging—but they may also point to an autoimmune disease.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 23, 2025
A tingling, hot feeling started at the base of my neck.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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.
