I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an insect sting (= a hole in your skin made by an insect )
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This cream is good for treating insect stings.
savage/stinging/vicious/biting satire
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a biting satire of the television industry
stinging nettle
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
cut/sting/pierce sb to the quick
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Son, you really cut down to the quick .
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That's probably why she sent him - she knew it would cut him to the quick .
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The answer cut him to the quick .
stinging attack/report/letter etc
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Mr Smith launched a stinging attack on John Major, ridiculing him as a man who has lost control of events.
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The company which used to give £40,000 a year to Tory funds, launched a stinging attack on Government policies.
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What upsets her much more than the two columns is a stinging letter to the editor published in the sports pages.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Cigarette smoke stings my eyes.
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Henry was stung by a bee at the picnic.
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His cheek stung where his mother had slapped him.
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Lathan was stung by the senator's harsh criticism.
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The paper cut on my finger really stings.
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The smoke stung my eyes.
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The smoke made our eyes sting .
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Gabby felt tears sting her eyes, suddenly realizing the full force of what was happening.
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He concludes that the mist is a vapor which stings the skin of man.
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If it had been anyone but a Ryan ... She felt tears of frustration stinging her eyes.
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Returning to the jungle he finds he has to kill Lowery who has been stung by a Varga.
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Though not as deadly as the sea wasp, this jellyfish can cause severe irritation if it stings a human.
II. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
bee
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For a human being a wasp or bee sting is always painful, but not necessarily serious.
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Fire officials said bee stings and poison oak were the most serious problems.
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That is only a fraction of the numbers killed by bee stings .
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For most people, the reaction to a bee sting is swelling and pain.
operation
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First, a media sting operation caught several senior government aides taking bribes from arms dealers.
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Starting in the early 1990s, federal agents began setting up sting operations , including several in Maryland.
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Most of the suppliers accused in the sting operations have pleaded guilty to fraud charges.
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Plain and simple, LaPlante ran a sting operation on Flinn and entrapped her.
■ VERB
draw
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And it also served to draw stings: it ensured the main issue got cloaked in unimportant wranglings.
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In other cases, they met or even anticipated the claims, drawing their sting in advance.
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A 12.5% dividend hike drew the sting from the results, and the shares fell just 5p to 233p.
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Gassendi accepts them, but draws their sting .
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Hall kept him moving and gradually drew the sting from his opponent's game.
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Devoutness seems to have drawn the old satiric sting .
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Voice over Coetzer must draw that sting to stand any chance of survival on Saturday.
feel
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Walking from the taxi to his apartment, Ross had felt the sting and throb in his face for the first time.
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Even ten years later, he felt the sting of the rebuke, the motive for which he still fails to understand.
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We can smile, yet at the same time feel the sting of such a recognition of discrimination, intolerance and bigotry.
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Only afterward, on the hike back to the parking lot, did I begin to feel the sting of Red Disaster.
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Pivoting on the slow death fulcrum, he felt the hot sting of his own blood spilling from him.
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She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, feeling the sting of tears behind her eyelids.
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She felt a mild nettle sting .
take
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Not to want what couldn't be had no doubt took the sting from things.
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Leaders also encourage creativity when they take the sting out of failure.
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Middlesbrough, however, had taken the sting out of Leicester and were playing with more confidence and control at this stage.
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Or you can take away the sting of an unsettling situation by overlaying it with positive associations.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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I had never felt the sting of discrimination before.
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I still felt the sting of her slap on my cheek.
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The bee sting had left a red mark on my arm.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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And not much chance of Fishy learning enough of the local lingo to set up a sting like this.
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Even ten years later, he felt the sting of the rebuke, the motive for which he still fails to understand.
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Only afterward, on the hike back to the parking lot, did I begin to feel the sting of Red Disaster.
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Passage of the bill would ease some of the sting that the White House has felt since its initiative failed.
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Walking from the taxi to his apartment, Ross had felt the sting and throb in his face for the first time.