好词典

sting

UK //stɪŋ//US //stɪŋ//

词源

源自古英语 'stingan',意为'刺',与古挪威语 'stinga' 同源,最终源自原始日耳曼语词根 *steng-。

verb

❶ 指昆虫或植物用尖锐部分刺入皮肤,通常会引起疼痛或不适感。比如蜜蜂蜇人或荨麻扎手。

“A bee stung me on the arm while I was gardening.”

(我在花园干活时被蜜蜂蜇了手臂。)

“The jellyfish's tentacles can sting even after death.”

(水母的触须即使在死后也能蜇人。)

❶ 形容某种感觉像被刺一样突然而尖锐的疼痛,常用于比喻身体或情感上的痛苦。

“The antiseptic stung when applied to the cut.”

(消毒剂涂在伤口上时火辣辣地疼。)

“Her harsh words stung him deeply.”

(她刻薄的话语深深刺痛了他。)

同义词:prick, bite, smart, burn, hurt

noun

❶ 昆虫或植物用来刺伤他物的尖锐器官,也指被刺后产生的疼痛感或伤痕。

“The bee left its sting in my skin.”

(蜜蜂把毒刺留在了我的皮肤里。)

“Wasps can deliver multiple stings because they don't lose their stingers.”

(黄蜂可以多次蜇人,因为它们不会失去螫针。)

❶ 警方或记者为抓捕罪犯或获取证据而精心设计的诱捕行动。

“The police set up a sting operation to catch the drug dealers.”

(警方设置诱捕行动来抓捕毒贩。)

“The journalist went undercover for a sting on corrupt officials.”

(记者卧底进行针对腐败官员的暗访行动。)

同义词:prick, bite, operation, trap, setup

常见短语

sting in the tail — 指看似顺利的事情最后出现意外问题或反转,就像动物尾巴末端的毒刺一样令人措手不及。

“The contract seemed fair, but there was a sting in the tail with hidden fees.”

(合同看起来公平,但最后有隐藏费用的意外陷阱。)

take the sting out of — 通过某些方式减轻痛苦或尴尬,使不愉快的经历变得更容易接受。

“Her kind words took the sting out of the criticism.”

(她善意的话语减轻了批评带来的刺痛感。)