Meanings
tingle1
present singular third person tingles · participle present tingling · participle past tingled · past tingled
- intransitiveTo feel a prickling or mildly stinging sensation.
My hands were tingling from the cold.
2 more examples
I got hit in the butt yesterday, and it still tingles.
For five minutes Pollyanna worked swiftly, deftly, combing a refractory curl into fluffiness, perking up a drooping ruffle at the neck, or shaking a pillow into plumpness so that the head might have a better pose. Meanwhile the sick woman, frowning prodigiously, and openly scoffing at the whole procedure, was, in spite of herself, beginning to tingle with a feeling perilously near to excitement.
1913, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 8, in Pollyanna, L.C. Page, →OCLC - transitiveTo cause to feel a prickling or mildly stinging sensation.
Tingle your tastebuds with these exotic dishes.
- intransitiveTo ring; to tinkle or twang.
1859-1895, Charles Dickens, All the Year Round sharp tingling bells
4 more examples
Sideways leaning, we sideways darted; every ropeyarn tingling like a wire; the two tall masts buckling like Indian canes in land tornadoes.
1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 13”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLCThe wind-chime tingling of halyards slapping against masts, the constant creaking of wooden boats, the gurgling of water passing under the hull.
1991, Michael L. Frankel, Sabra Crossing: An Ecological Adventure in the North AtlanticThey delightfully ring to greet the rising sun and still tingle during the darkest night.
2010, Joseph J. Mazzella, Walking the Path of Love, page 223At that precise moment, after a week of silence, the solar chime forcefully tingled, loudly and clearly, again and again.
2021, Benita Glickman, Then and Now: Snapshots of My Life - transitiveTo cause to ring, to tinkle.
[…]the Captain they trusted so well Had only one notion for crossing the ocean, And that was to tingle his bell.
1874–1876 (date written), Lewis Carroll [pseudonym; Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], “Fit the Fit the Second. The Bellman’s Speech.”, in The Hunting of the Snark […], London: Macmillan and Co., published March 1876, →OCLC1 more example
Jackson, the butler, older of course, and altered he can see at a glance, opens the door almost before his hand is off the bell he has only gently tingled.
1874, Charles C. Duek, The abbey chimes, page 76Synonyms: tinkle
plural tingles
- A tingling sound; a chime or tinkle.
The tingle of a wind chime drifted to her on the ocean breeze.
2014, Ally Blake, Marriage Make-Over2 more examples
Their every chime, ring, and tingle sings with joy and makes wonderful music as they dance with the swirling winds of nature.
2010, Joseph J. Mazzella, Walking the Path of Love, page 223The tingle of bells is crisp, cutting the Tibetan air with a clarity that feels like blue porcelain cracking against the endless chime of bells.
2017, Laurence Brahm, Searching for Shangri-La, page 52
tingle2
plural tingles
- A nail of the very smallest size; a tack.
Tingle the middle down by placing a tingle at the toe, and a couple at the joints.
2016, A Classic Guide to Making and Repairing Vintage Shoes and Boots2 more examples
From the diminutive "tingle" or baby tack up to the massive ship spike, almost every kind of nail is shown, not only in iron and steel, but also in copper, zinc, and brass,, and on the partition will be noticed a somewhat novel application of nails.
1887, “The Exhibition and the Exhibits”, in The Monthly Chronicle of North-Country Lore and Legend, page 91Figs. 16, 17, 18 show method of forming a double welt, notice the copper tack or tingle to same as further security.
1910, Samuel Barlow Bennett, A Manual of Technical Plumbing and Sanitary Science, page 206 - A patch that covers a hole in something that needs to be watertight, such as a roof or a boat.
Nail the tingle to the sheathing between the two slates below the one being fixed .
1992, Derek Bradford, Key Porter Books, Mike Lawrence, The Complete Home Renovation Manual, page 545 more examples
If damage is localised then you may easily tingle it over and a perfectly good sound job may be made with a tingle. Metal tingles are not ; they require a lot of fastenings and even then are not easily made really watertight.
1956, World Fishing - Volume 5, page 54With tin snips, cut the tingle to shape (some people bend the edges over to form a 1/4-inch hem), and lather it with polysulfide seam compound.
1980 July-December, John Pazereskis, “Wood Boat Seam Repairs”, in Cruising World, page 48The appearance of this basically unattractive repair can be marginally improved by making the tingle larger than is structurally necessary and then give it long chamfers to fair it in.
1984, David Derrick, Boat Maintenance, page 35A thin chamfered tingle (A) was fitted to the outboard face of the largest board and a thicker example (B) to the inboard face.
2000, Carole A. Morris, Craft, Industry and Everyday Life, page 2380The tools, tingle, and copper nails may be contained in a smaller bag called the carpenter's bag. A piece of felt or fearnought is included, to be placed over a hole under the tingle.
2006, A Seaman's Pocket-Book: June 1943, page 81 - businessAn attachment in the middle of a long guide line to keep it from sagging.
To prevent a long line sagging, it can be given intermediate support with a tingle plate.
2013, Michael Hammett, Brickwork and Paving: For House and Garden2 more examples
The tingle is fastened on the top of the brick by a small pat of mortar, on which is placed a piece of brick to keep the tingle firm.
1915 February, “British Method of Laying Bricks”, in Building Age, volume 37, page 68a tingle is used to prevent the line from sagging in the middle if it is being used on a long wall
1983, W. G. Nash, Brickwork - Volume 1, page 76
present singular third person tingles · participle present tingling · participle past tingled · past tingled
- transitiveTo patch with a tingle; to cover a hole in something that requires it to be watertight.
To put her on the other tack while we tingle a started butt would lose us twenty-four hours at least, maybe more.
2018, Denys Arthur Rayner, The Long Fight1 more example
If damage is localised then you may easily tingle it over and a perfectly good sound job may be made with a tingle.
1956, World Fishing - Volume 5, page 54 - transitivebusinessTo secure the middle of a guide line by means of a tingle.
If there is much length of line it will require tingling up to keep it from sagging. To tingle a line it is best to have a plumbing place at that point were the tingle is to be fixed so as to ensure the work beging kept true.
1915 February, “British Method of Laying Bricks”, in Building Age, volume 37, page 68
Tingle3
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo cause to ring, to tinkle.
to feel a prickly sensation
More synonyms by meaning
nounan almost pleasurable sensation of fright
nouna somatic sensation as from many tiny stings
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
tingle · verb, noun
- Old Englishtinclian“to tickle”
- Middle Englishtingen“to tink”
- Middle Englishtinglen
- Englishtingle
From Middle English tinglen, of uncertain origin. Possibly from Middle English tingen (“to tink”) + -len, equivalent to ting + -le. Alternatively, possibly a variant of Middle English tinclen (“to tinkle”) or from Old English tinclian (“to tickle”). More at tinkle. Compare also West Frisian tingelje (“to tinkle”), Dutch tingelen (“to tinkle, jingle”).
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic وَخَزَ, نَمِلَ
- وَخَزَ (waḵaza)to have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- نَمِلَ (namila)to have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
Bulgarian звънтя, щипя
- звънтя (zvăntja)intransitive: to ring
- щипя (štipja)to have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- изтръпвам (iztrăpvam)to have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- изтръпване (iztrăpvane)prickling sensation
- бодеж (bodež)prickling sensation
Czech brnět, mravenčit
- brnětto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- mravenčitto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
Dutch rinkelen, tinkelen
- rinkelenintransitive: to make ringing sounds — see also twang
- tinkelenintransitive: to make ringing sounds — see also twang
- tintelento have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- kriebelento have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
Esperanto pikpiki, pikpiko
- pikpikito have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- pikpikoprickling sensation
Finnish kilahtaa, kilahdella
- kilahtaaintransitive: to ring
- kilahdellaintransitive: to ring
- kilistäintransitive: to ring
- kilistelläintransitive: to ring
- soidaintransitive: to make ringing sounds — see also twang
- kilauttaatransitive: to cause to ring
- kilautellatransitive: to cause to ring
- kilistäätransitive: to cause to ring
- kilistellätransitive: to cause to ring
- pistelläto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- kihelmöidäto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- nipistelläto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- kihelmöintiprickling sensation
- pistelyprickling sensation
French picoter, picotement
- picoterto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- picotementprickling sensation
German kribbeln, prickeln
- kribbelnto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- prickelnto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- Prickelnprickling sensation
Hindi सिहरन
- सिहरन (sihran)to have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
Italian formicolare, pizzicare
- formicolareto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- pizzicareto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- solleticoprickling sensation
Latvian tirpt, notirpums
- tirptto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- notirpumsprickling sensation
- tirpoņaprickling sensation
- tirpšanaprickling sensation
Māori tī, tītī
- tīintransitive: to make ringing sounds — see also twang
- tītīintransitive: to make ringing sounds — see also twang
- wheointransitive: to make ringing sounds — see also twang
- wheowheointransitive: to make ringing sounds — see also twang
- tītīto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- ongaongato have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- nanamuto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- tengatengato have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
Polish mrowić, dzwonienie
- mrowićto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- dzwonienieprickling sensation
- mrowienieprickling sensation
- swędzenieprickling sensation
Portuguese formigar
- formigarto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
Russian пока́лывать, онемева́ть
- пока́лывать (pokályvatʹ)to have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- онемева́ть (onemevátʹ)to have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- пока́лывание (pokályvanije)prickling sensation
Spanish hormiguear, hormigueo
- hormiguearto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- hormigueoprickling sensation
- hormigueamientoprickling sensation
Turkish uyuşmak, karıncalanmak
- uyuşmakto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- karıncalanmakto have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
Ukrainian дзвони́ти, подзво́нювати
- дзвони́ти (dzvonýty)intransitive: to ring
- подзво́нювати (podzvónjuvaty)transitive: to cause to ring
- подзвони́ти (podzvonýty)transitive: to cause to ring
- коло́тися (kolótysja)to have a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- поко́лювати (pokóljuvaty)to cause to feel a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- поколо́ти (pokolóty)to cause to feel a prickling or mildly stinging sensation
- поко́лювання (pokóljuvannja)prickling sensation
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with tingle
Anagrams
Cite this entry
tingle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tingle
“tingle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tingle. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tingle,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tingle.
Source: tingle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.