knifelike

K5N1I1F4E1L1I1K5E1

adjective

Resembling a knife or its effects.

“The patient reported a knifelike pain in his abdomen.”

Scrabble 20

Meanings

adjectiveknifelike (comparative more knifelike, superlative most knifelike)

comparative more knifelike · superlative most knifelike

  1. Resembling a knife or its effects.

    The patient reported a knifelike pain in his abdomen.

    1 more example

    I hated the man at once. I lost not a moment. I darted my eyes across the table, caught his, and stabbed him with one of those withering knifelike glances that only the descendants of the great can inflict.

    1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivecutting or able to cut as if with a knife

Similar

adjectivehaving or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions

adjectivepainful as if caused by a sharp instrument

adjectivehaving a sharp or distinct edge

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Englishknife
  2. Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
  3. Proto-Germanic*līką
  4. Englishknifelike

From knife + -like.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

knifelike. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knifelike

MLA

“knifelike.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knifelike. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “knifelike,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knifelike.

Source: knifelike on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.