Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

piercing

/ˈpɪɹsɪŋ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.57 in modern English

Syllables
pierc-ing
IPA
/ˈpɪɹsɪŋ/
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

present participle and gerund of pierce

noun

gerund of pierce

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A hole made in the body so that jewellery can be worn through it.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

An item of jewellery designed to be fitted through a piercing (noun sense 2).

Countable; Uncountable

adj

Appearing to look deeply into; penetrating.

adj

Of temperature, extremely cold so that it penetrates through clothing and shelter.

adj

Of sound, loud and sharp; shrill.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From pierce + -ing.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈpɪɹsɪŋ/
  • British English: /ˈpɪəsɪŋ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

piercings (plural) more piercing (comparative) most piercing (superlative)

Derived Forms

nonpiercing piercingly piercingness unpiercing

Phrases

body piercing Christina piercing daith piercing fourchette piercing industrial piercing Isabella piercing Madonna piercing Medusa piercing

Synonyms

gimlety raw cutting keen knifelike stabbing lancinate lancinating

Questions

How do you pronounce piercing?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɪɹsɪŋ/.
What does piercing mean?
present participle and gerund of pierce
Where does piercing come from?
From pierce + -ing.

How to pronounce piercing

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “piercing”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpɪɹsɪŋ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “piercing”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “piercing” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.