Meanings
comparative more knifelike · superlative most knifelike
- 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
adjectivehaving or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
adjectivepainful as if caused by a sharp instrument
adjectivehaving a sharp or distinct edge
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Englishknife
- Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
- Proto-Germanic*līką
- Englishknifelike
Cite this entry
knifelike. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knifelike
“knifelike.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knifelike. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “knifelike,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knifelike.
Source: knifelike on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.