cutting, keen, knifelike, piercing, stabbing, lancinate, lancinating
(adjective) painful as if caused by a sharp instrument; “a cutting wind”; “keen winds”; “knifelike cold”; “piercing knifelike pains”; “piercing cold”; “piercing criticism”; “a stabbing pain”; “lancinating pain”
acute, discriminating, incisive, keen, knifelike, penetrating, penetrative, piercing, sharp
(adjective) having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions; “an acute observer of politics and politicians”; “incisive comments”; “icy knifelike reasoning”; “as sharp and incisive as the stroke of a fang”; “penetrating insight”; “frequent penetrative observations”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
piercing
present participle of pierce
piercing (countable and uncountable, plural piercings)
(uncountable) The action of the verb to pierce.
A hole made in the body so that jewellery/jewelry can be worn through it.
An item of jewelry designed to be fitted through a piercing.
piercing (comparative more piercing, superlative most piercing)
Appearing to look deeply into; penetrating.
Of temperature, extremely cold so that it penetrates through clothing and shelter.
Of sound, loud and sharp; shrill.
Source: Wiktionary
Pier"cing, a.
Definition: Forcibly entering, or adapted to enter, at or by a point; perforating; penetrating; keen; -- used also figuratively; as, a piercing instrument, or thrust. "Piercing eloquence." Shak.
– Pier"cing*ly, adv.
– Pier"cing*ness, n.
Pierce, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pierced; p. pr. & vb. n. Piercing.] Etym: [OE. percen, F. percer, OF. percier, perchier, parchier; perh. fr. (assumed) LL. pertusiare for pertusare, fr. L. pertundere, pertusum, to beat, push, bore through; per through + tundere to beat: cf. OF. pertuisier to pierce, F. pertuis a hole. Cf. Contuse, Parch, Pertuse.]
1. To thrust into, penetrate, or transfix, with a pointed instrument. "I pierce . . . her tender side." Dryden.
2. To penetrate; to enter; to force a way into or through; to pass into or through; as, to pierce the enemy's line; a shot pierced the ship.
3. Fig.: To penetrate; to affect deeply; as, to pierce a mystery. "Pierced with grief." Pope. Can no prayers pierce thee Shak.
Pierce, v. i.
Definition: To enter; to penetrate; to make a way into or through something, as a pointed instrument does; -- used literally and figuratively. And pierced to the skin, but bit no more. Spenser. She would not pierce further into his meaning. Sir P. Sidney.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
29 April 2024
(noun) a geological process in which one edge of a crustal plate is forced sideways and downward into the mantle below another plate
The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.
