How to Use piercing in a Sentence

piercing

1 of 2 adjective
  • I tried to avoid his piercing stare.
  • She felt a piercing sadness when she heard the news.
  • She looked at me with piercing eyes, and I was suddenly frightened that she knew what I had done.
  • The piercing blue eyes of huskies — those beloved, wolf-like canines — stand out among most dog breeds.
    — Roni Dengler, Discover Magazine, 4 Oct. 2018
  • The plucky lead melody, bright and piercing, lingers in the air like a fond memory.
    — Billboard Staff, Billboard, 8 July 2022
  • Buarque’s eyes are more piercing, his chin slightly more pinched.
    — Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2022
  • But an even more piercing moment came during a much quieter song.
    — New York Times, 20 Feb. 2022
  • Cody had a piercing bark and Lacey just had a normal but vicious bark that day.
    — Robert Miller, cleveland, 26 Aug. 2021
  • To best take care of your belly button ring post-piercing, make sure to clean it every day.
    — Leah Campano, Seventeen, 3 Feb. 2023
  • These devices produce a piercing sound loud enough to wake you, your neighbors and the front desk, too.
    — Washington Post, 20 May 2021
  • There are no words to describe the piercing loss Winchester felt on the worst day of his life.
    — Vahe Gregorian, kansascity, 22 Sep. 2017
  • Every time the hapless Blount exited his front door, a piercing alarm would wail.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 9 May 2021
  • The piercing 30-second air horn blast is a wakeup call from the soft lapping waters.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 18 Aug. 2021
  • The piercing screams and shaky floorboards ushered Bad Bunny’s launch.
    — Thania Garcia, Variety, 1 Oct. 2022
  • On the wall hung a somber portrait of Carter, his small, piercing, black eyes gazing irritably down.
    — Jo Marchant, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Nov. 2022
  • Its piercing alarm is activated with the simple press of a button, which also turns on flashing strobe lights.
    — Kristy Alpert, Travel + Leisure, 10 Sep. 2023
  • The town, practically abandoned this afternoon, starts to drown in a piercing light.
    — Jhumpa Lahiri, The New Yorker, 8 Feb. 2021
  • With the unpredictability of the past two years, there's truly no knowing what will happen in the piercing world.
    — Gabi Thorne, Allure, 6 Dec. 2021
  • Majumdar writes these scenes with a piercing homesickness for a life Jivan may never know.
    — Grace Z. Li, USA TODAY, 1 June 2020
  • The words had a piercing clarity in the silence dictated by tennis custom.
    — Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2022
  • On a recent Saturday, a group of parents in aprons worked in the school’s small kitchen amid a piercing smell of garlic and aged cabbage.
    — Julia Mio Inuma, Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2022
  • But every once in a while, a piercing alarm will erupt from the silence to alert gamers that a graphics card has been listed for sale somewhere on the internet.
    — Nicolás Rivero, Quartz, 27 July 2021
  • The most piercing lyricism is reserved for Wozzeck’s common-law wife, Marie, who falls victim to his madness.
    — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2020
  • These children live in a place where the piercing whine of warplanes, the tremors of airstrikes and the humming buzz of armed drones are familiar sounds, even in times of cease-fire.
    — Arkansas Online, 24 July 2021
  • After all, only those on the highest level, able to navigate the most piercing pain, are singled out by God.
    — Rabbi Avi Weiss, sun-sentinel.com, 21 Mar. 2022
  • In the distance, three visiting hikers stopped dead in their tracks at the piercing sound and its echo bouncing off the walls of the ravine that separated them.
    — New York Times, 18 Feb. 2021
  • The beauty of the quilts occasionally belie the piercing nature of some of the subject matter.
    — Brienne Walsh, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2021
  • The long exposure to the elements hid one of the bust’s most striking aspects, eyes of silver that shoot a piercing gaze—now vivid again after a restoration.
    — Peter Saenger, WSJ, 18 June 2021
  • Anchondo said the Buffalo shooting is a piercing reminder of the grief his family has endured for the last three years.
    — Nicquel Terry Ellis, CNN, 22 May 2022
  • Like the piercing sound of a diva’s aria, the president’s personality is not for everyone.
    — Deroy Murdock, National Review, 3 Nov. 2020

piercing

2 of 2 noun
  • There's a small shop in town where they do tattooing and body piercing.
  • She got another ear piercing.
  • As your piercing heals, be sure to listen to your body.
    — Caroline C. Boyle, USA Today, 16 Dec. 2025
  • The star's first attempt at a nose piercing didn’t quite turn out as planned.
    — Sarah Midkiff, refinery29.com, 4 Jan. 2021
  • When the piercing was all done, the proud mom looked at her daughter and smiled.
    — Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
  • And his nose-chain piercing gave him a unique look amid a rock era known for visual flair.
    — Matt Wake | [email protected], al, 3 May 2022
  • An edge that’s folded over a bit, like a teenage ear awaiting a piercing.
    — Alex Beggs, Bon Appétit, 13 Feb. 2020
  • Spray the piercing with sterile saline wound wash when cleaning it.
    — Sherri Gordon, Health, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The piercing gets its name from the fact that it can only be seen when a person smiles.
    — Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Punky and princess-y at the same time, these pink cat-eye nails are studded with silver piercings.
    — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 12 Apr. 2026
  • Your belly button piercing is an open wound that takes longer to heal, says Pearce.
    — Sherri Gordon, Health, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Avoid clicking the jewelry against teeth and avoid stress on the piercing.
    — Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Secure the patch over your piercing using an ace-type bandage.
    — Sherri Gordon, Health, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Lobe piercings tend to heal more quickly than cartilage ones.
    — Lisa Desantis, Glamour, 30 July 2025
  • Her quick smile reveals frenulum piercings in her upper teeth.
    — Sports Columnist, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Feb. 2026
  • Nipple piercings take longer than other body piercings to help.
    — Madeleine Burry, Health, 1 Feb. 2024
  • These can include pacemakers, stents, piercings and screws in bones.
    — Michaela Maya-Mrschtik, Scientific American, 6 Aug. 2025
  • To get a new tattoo or another piercing?
    — Miriam Kirmayer, SELF, 1 Oct. 2025
  • There are even ear cuffs and clip-on styles for those who prefer to skip the piercing altogether.
    — Lauren Alexis Fisher, Footwear News, 7 Aug. 2025
  • One of her more recent videos is a close-up clip of her ear, with numbers edited in to point out each piercing.
    — Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Rather, the glam studs and metallic rings were glued on to mimic the look of an actual piercing.
    — Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 29 May 2026
  • The store will feature a full hair, brow and makeup service salon, plus ear-piercing.
    — Charlotte Observer, 28 Jan. 2026
  • The store will feature a full hair, brow and makeup service salon, plus ear-piercing.
    — Charlotte Observer, 8 Apr. 2026
  • No facial piercings aside from earlobes are allowed.
    — Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Body paint, scars and piercings define the Ash People.
    — Ingrid Schmidt, HollywoodReporter, 4 Feb. 2026
  • As for the piercing references, those were a bit more personal.
    — Brooke Bobb, Vogue, 16 Apr. 2018
  • Many factors can influence how well or quickly your piercing heals.
    — Sherri Gordon, Health, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The shop also offers piercings.
    — Idaho Statesman, 3 Mar. 2026
  • The trend itself isn’t new — smiley piercings have existed for years.
    — Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Though Ophelia had allowed her daughter to get her ears pierced, a nose piercing felt like too much too soon.
    — Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Aug. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'piercing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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