nettle

/'netl/

Thân thiện

A child accidentally brushes against a nettle while walking through a field.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • A plant with stinging hairs: A wild plant, often considered a weed, that has leaves with small hairs that sting and cause a temporary, painful rash when touched.

2. Verb:

   • To annoy or irritate someone: To cause someone to feel slightly angry or impatient.
   • To sting physically: To cause a stinging pain on the skin, as if by touching the plant.

Examples

• Noun:

  • I accidentally brushed against a nettle while hiking and got a painful rash.
  • The field was overgrown with nettles and thistles.

• Verb (to annoy):

  • His constant criticism began to nettle her.
  • It nettles me when people are late for meetings.

• Verb (to sting):

  • The harsh soap nettled my skin. (This usage is less common.)

Advanced Usage

• To grasp the nettle: To deal with a difficult situation boldly and directly.
  • The new manager decided to grasp the nettle and address the team's poor performance immediately.

Variants and Related Words

• Stinging nettle (n): The most common type of nettle plant (Urtica dioica).
• Nettled (adj): Feeling annoyed or irritated.
  • He was clearly nettled by the accusation.

Synonyms

• Annoy, irritate, vex, bother, provoke (for the verb meaning).
• Weed, stinging plant (for the noun).

Related Phrases

• To be on nettles: To be in a state of anxiety or agitation. (Idiomatic, somewhat literary)
  • She was on nettles waiting for the exam results.

Idioms

• Grasp the nettle: As above, to tackle a problem bravely.
• Nettle in, dock out: An old saying suggesting that dock leaves (which often grow near nettles) can soothe nettle stings. It is sometimes used metaphorically to mean a solution is close to a problem.

Học thuật

Noun

1. any of numerous plants having stinging hairs that cause skin irritation on contact (especially of the genus Urtica or family Urticaceae)

Verb

1. cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
   • Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me
   • It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves
2. sting with or as with nettles and cause a stinging pain or sensation

Từ đồng nghĩa

• urticate