Meaning & use
needled
Last updated
Provoked, teased, or annoyed someone persistently, often through pointed comments or criticism.
See it in a sentence
His coworkers needled him for weeks about forgetting the client's name.
She needled her brother until he finally admitted he'd broken the lamp.
A note on using this word
The past tense of "needle," a verb that extends the image of a sharp needle to describe small, repeated jabs of irritation rather than physical pain.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
soothed
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