adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   gerund of pierce countable, form-of, gerund, uncountable
2. 2
   A hole made in the body so that jewellery can be worn through it. countable, uncountable

   "ear piercing"

3. 3
   An item of jewellery designed to be fitted through a piercing (noun sense 2). countable, uncountable

Verb

1. 1
   present participle and gerund of pierce form-of, gerund, participle, present

Adjective

1. 1
   Appearing to look deeply into; penetrating.

   "piercing eyes"

2. 2
   Of temperature, extremely cold so that it penetrates through clothing and shelter.
3. 3
   Of sound, loud and sharp; shrill.

   "The piercing noise of the children could be heard two blocks from the elementary school."

Adjective

1. 1
   painful as if caused by a sharp instrument wordnet
2. 2
   having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

absorbingacerbacerbateacerbicacidacidic

Antonyms

All antonyms

quiet

Example

More examples

"The xylophone's piercing high notes have bloodied ears around the world."

Etymology

From pierce + -ing.

Related phrases

Madonna piercingMedusa piercingMonroe piercingarmor-piercingarmour-piercingbody piercingdaith piercingear-piercingindustrial piercinglip piercingnose piercingpiercing gun

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.