stinging
/ˈstɪŋɪŋ/
nounadjective
Familiar
1.n.a kind of pain; something as sudden and painful as being stung
“the sting of death”
2.adj.(of speech) harsh or hurtful in tone or character
“cutting remarks”
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stinging and stinking differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. stinging means “a kind of pain; something as sudden and painful as being stung”. stinking means “very bad”. stinking is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈstɪŋɪŋ/
1.n.a kind of pain; something as sudden and painful as being stung
“the sting of death”
2.adj.(of speech) harsh or hurtful in tone or character
“cutting remarks”
/ˈstɪŋkɪŋ/
1.adj.very bad
“a lousy play”
2.adj.offensively malodorous
“a foul odor”
| stinging | stinking | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈstɪŋɪŋ/ | /ˈstɪŋkɪŋ/ |
| Said | STING-ing | STING-king |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 8 | 8 |
| Parts of speech | noun, adjective | adjective |
| Senses | 2 | 2 |
| How common | Familiar | Common |
| Synonyms | sting | icky, crappy, lousy |
Full entry for stinging · Full entry for stinking · More comparisons