Meanings
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of pierce
plural piercings
- countablegerunduncountablegerund of pierce
- countableuncountableAn item of jewellery designed to be fitted through a piercing (noun sense 2).
comparative more piercing · superlative most piercing
- Of temperature, extremely cold so that it penetrates through clothing and shelter.
Synonyms: raw
- Of sound, loud and sharp; shrill.
The piercing noise of the children could be heard two blocks from the elementary school.
1 more example
In the meantime the saw was stopped and two of the men began filing and sharpening the blades, which produced such a piercing sound that it went through bone and marrow.
1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 155
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveAppearing to look deeply into; penetrating.
adjectiveOf temperature, extremely cold so that it penetrates through clothing and shelter.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivehaving or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
adjectivepainful as if caused by a sharp instrument
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Ancient Greek ὀξύφωνος
- ὀξύφωνος (oxúphōnos)of sound - shrill
Bulgarian пирсинг, проницателен
- пирсинг (pirsing)the jewelry itself
- проницателен (pronicatelen)appearing to look deeply into; penetrating
- пронизващ (pronizvašt)of temperature - extremely cold
- пронизителен (pronizitelen)of sound - shrill
Catalan pírcing
- pírcinghole for jewelry
Chinese Mandarin 刺穿, 穿洞
- 刺穿 (cìchuān)hole for jewelry
- 穿洞 (chuāndòng)hole for jewelry
- 沖孔 /冲孔 (chōngkǒng)hole for jewelry
- 尖利 (jiānlì)appearing to look deeply into; penetrating
Dutch piercing
- piercinghole for jewelry
Finnish lävistys, lävistys
- lävistysthe jewelry itself
- lävistyshole for jewelry
- läpitunkevaappearing to look deeply into; penetrating
French piercing, piercing
- piercingthe jewelry itself
- piercinghole for jewelry
German Piercing, durchdringend
- Piercinghole for jewelry
- durchdringendappearing to look deeply into; penetrating
- stechendappearing to look deeply into; penetrating
- beißendof temperature - extremely cold
- durchdringendof sound - shrill
- schrillof sound - shrill
Italian piercing, foro
- piercingthe jewelry itself
- forohole for jewelry
- pungenteappearing to look deeply into; penetrating
- penetranteappearing to look deeply into; penetrating
- penetranteof temperature - extremely cold
Japanese ピアス, ピアスホール
- ピアス (piasu)the jewelry itself
- ピアスホール (piasu hōru)hole for jewelry
Korean 피어싱
- 피어싱 (pieosing)the jewelry itself
Latin penetrālis, strīdulus
- penetrālisappearing to look deeply into; penetrating
- strīdulusof sound - shrill
Māori kōtaratara, tio
- kōtarataraof temperature - extremely cold
- tioof temperature - extremely cold
- tīkākāof sound - shrill
- tīwharawharaof sound - shrill
Polish piercing
- piercinghole for jewelry
Portuguese pírcingue, piercing
- pírcinguethe jewelry itself
- piercingthe jewelry itself
- piercinghole for jewelry
- pírcinguehole for jewelry
Russian пи́рсинг, прока́лывание
- пи́рсинг (pírsing)hole for jewelry
- прока́лывание (prokályvanije)hole for jewelry
Spanish pirsin, piercing
- pirsinthe jewelry itself
- piercingthe jewelry itself
- pirsinhole for jewelry
- piercinghole for jewelry
- punzanteappearing to look deeply into; penetrating
Swedish piercing
- piercinghole for jewelry
Turkish pirsing, hızma
- pirsingthe jewelry itself
- hızmathe jewelry itself
- pirsinghole for jewelry
Cite this entry
piercing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/piercing
“piercing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/piercing. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “piercing,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/piercing.
Source: piercing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.