nipping
/'nipiɳ/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Pleasantly cold and invigorating: Used to describe weather, especially wind or air, that is cold in a sharp, refreshing, and stimulating way.
- Capable of wounding; sharp and critical: Used to describe remarks, criticism, or wit that is harsh, biting, sarcastic, or stinging.
Examples
- Describing cold weather:
- We went for a walk in the nipping morning air.
- A nipping wind blew in from the north, making us shiver.
- Describing sharp criticism or wit:
- She responded with a nipping remark that silenced the room.
- His nipping satire exposed the hypocrisy of the politicians.
Advanced Usage
- "Nipping and tucking": This is a fixed phrase, often used informally to refer to cosmetic surgery, particularly a facelift. It is not a direct use of the adjective 'nipping' alone but a set idiom.
- After her vacation, she joked about needing a little nipping and tucking.
Variants and Related Words
- Nip (verb): To pinch, squeeze, or bite sharply; to cause a stinging sensation from cold.
- The crab nipped my finger.
- The cold wind nipped at our ears.
- Nippiness (noun): The quality of being nippy or nipping.
- The nippiness of the autumn air was a welcome change.
- Nippy (adjective): Very similar to 'nipping', meaning chilly/cold or quick/sharp.
- It's a bit nippy outside today. (cold)
- He's a nippy little runner. (quick)
Synonyms
- For cold: biting, crisp, frosty, sharp, chilly, keen.
- For criticism: biting, cutting, caustic, acerbic, pungent, stinging, sarcastic.
Related Phrases and Idioms
- Nip something in the bud: To stop something at an early stage before it can develop into something larger. This idiom uses the verb 'nip', not the adjective 'nipping'.
- We need to nip this bad habit in the bud before it gets worse.
Adjective
- pleasantly cold and invigorating
- crisp clear nights and frosty mornings
- a nipping wind
- a nippy fall day
- snappy weather
- capable of wounding
- a barbed compliment
- a biting aphorism
- pungent satire