Pierce
/piəs/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb (transitive and intransitive):
- To make a hole in or through something using a sharp, pointed object: To penetrate or puncture a surface.
- To force a way through or into something: To cut or pass through a barrier or medium.
- To affect the senses or emotions sharply and deeply: To be felt intensely, as a sound, feeling, or sight that is penetrating.
Examples of Usage
Verb (Transitive):
- The thorn pierced my finger. (A sharp object made a hole in my skin.)
- Her scream pierced the silence of the night. (A sharp sound cut through the quiet.)
- The news pierced his heart with sadness. (Emotions were affected deeply and sharply.)
Verb (Intransitive, often with 'through' or 'into'):
- The needle pierced through the fabric easily. (The needle passed through the material.)
- Sunlight finally pierced through the thick clouds. (Light forced its way through an obstacle.)
Advanced Usage
"to pierce the corporate veil" (Legal/Business Idiom): To hold a company's shareholders personally liable for the company's actions by ignoring the legal separation between the company and its owners.
- The court decided to pierce the corporate veil due to evidence of fraud.
"piercing" (Adjective): Describing something that is very sharp, intense, or penetrating.
- She gave him a piercing look. (A very sharp and penetrating gaze.)
- He felt a piercing pain in his side. (A very sharp and sudden pain.)
Variants and Related Words
- Piercing (n): The act of making a hole or the hole itself; also, a form of body modification where jewelry is inserted.
- She got a new ear piercing.
- Piercer (n): A person or tool that pierces.
- The piercer used a sterilized needle.
Synonyms
- Puncture: To make a small hole with a sharp point.
- Penetrate: To enter or pass through something.
- Impale: To pierce with a sharp stake or point (more violent connotation).
- Perforate: To make a line of holes in something.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Pierce through: To succeed in penetrating or passing through something.
- The bullet pierced through the metal plate.
Related Idioms
- Pierce someone's heart: To cause someone to feel a sudden, sharp emotion, typically sadness or love.
- The tragic story pierced the hearts of everyone who heard it.
- Pierce the darkness: For light or sound to cut through darkness.
- A single beam from the lighthouse pierced the darkness.
Noun
- 14th President of the United States (1804-1869)
Verb
- make a hole into
- The needle pierced her flesh
- penetrate or cut through with a sharp instrument
- sound sharply or shrilly
- The scream pierced the night
- move or affect (a person's emotions or bodily feelings) deeply or sharply
- The cold pierced her bones
- Her words pierced the students
- cut or make a way through
- the knife cut through the flesh
- The path pierced the jungle
- Light pierced through the forest