1
as in puncture
a mark or small hole made by a pointed instrument
the immunization shot left a prick on my arm that turned into a bruise
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in tingle
a sharp unpleasant sensation usually felt in some specific part of the body
she felt a sharp prick when the nurse gave her the shot
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of prick
Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 4 Dec. 2025
She was connected to an IV with insulin, her fingers repeatedly pricked to test blood glucose.
—Jan Goldsmith, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Oct. 2025
The curious cats will keep their eyes wide open and ears pricked forward.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Oct. 2025
Citing the French Interior Ministry, Le Monde reported that 145 people across France reported being pricked.
—Liam Quinn, People.com, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for prick
Verb
Beyond the myriad complications that come with diabetes, patients have to additionally put up with regular blood sugar testing – which involves either multiple pin pricks a day to draw blood or wearing a continuous glucose monitor patch that needs to be replaced every couple of weeks.
—Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 4 Dec. 2025
She was connected to an IV with insulin, her fingers repeatedly pricked to test blood glucose.
—Jan Goldsmith, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Oct. 2025
The curious cats will keep their eyes wide open and ears pricked forward.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Oct. 2025
Citing the French Interior Ministry, Le Monde reported that 145 people across France reported being pricked.
—Liam Quinn, People.com, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for prick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prick
Noun
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Paredes lofted it to left field — deeper this time, off the top of the out-of-town scoreboard for a two-run double, the first puncture of an eventual outpouring.—
Matt Kawahara,
Houston Chronicle,
29 Mar. 2026
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Police said Canut hit the employee and then scratched the customer in the face and bit her hand, leaving a puncture wound.—
Meghan Schiller,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The spicy versions deliver a swift punch and a lingering tingle on the tongue.—
Sean Timberlake,
Sacbee.com,
1 Apr. 2026
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And second, there’s the audience’s uncomfortable tingle of recognition watching Vladimir Putin’s tightening stranglehold on the Russian press.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Fitzpatrick, who missed four birdie chances from inside 10 feet in a seven-hole stretch around the turn, holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-3 15th to take the lead, only for Lipsky — playing in the group behind him — to make a 7-foot birdie on the 14th to catch him.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
22 Mar. 2026
-
Steak knives are one of those kitchen items that get pigeon-holed into the niche tool category thanks to their name.—
Emily Johnson,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
And that dawg had a tummy ache.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
2 Apr. 2026
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The bumps and bruises, aches, pain and fatigue that comes with air travel and sleeping in hotels and the unrelenting schedule takes its toll.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Nobody should be bored with that.—
Jeff McDonald,
San Antonio Express-News,
2 Apr. 2026
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Its wood is so dense that pests can’t bore into it.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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At a recent sleepover, my 15-year-old son and his 14-year-old friend Charlie, driven by a pang of nostalgia, chose to watch the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics on YouTube.—
Luba Kassova,
Fortune,
1 Apr. 2026
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What Brooks proffers is not the philosophy these queries require but a kind of pharmacology—a pill designed to alleviate every last pang.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Retatrutide has shown similar side effects, as well as a prickling sensation known as dysesthesia.—
Meg Tirrell,
CNN Money,
19 Mar. 2026
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An awareness of absent ancestors prickles through her writing, but at the same time, her fictional worlds feel solid and present.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Bank, a New York surgeon who founded a clinic focused on post-mastectomy pain, said the pain is believed to be triggered by nerves that are severed during surgery and then left that way.—
Brett Kelman,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
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Falter said there was some lingering pain on Wednesday.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prick. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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