pinprick means an insignificant puncture made by a pin or similar point. It carries an Arena rating of 1651, earned across 9 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, pinprick ranks #190 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #254 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #308 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #3,158 of 17,163 for Funniest Words.
Why “pinprick” is a great word
A minute puncture or sharp, fleeting sensation, most trivial in scale. From pin, a slender pointed piece of metal, and prick, a small puncture or sharp sting; first recorded in 1745–55, with its figurative sense emerging by 1885. Unlike a puncture, which suggests a consequential breach, or a stab, which implies a deep and violent wound, a pinprick is defined by its superficial trespass. It is the bright, precise star of pain when threading a needle, the sudden intrusion of a distant lighthouse beam through a dark window, or the almost imperceptible flaw in a balloon that guarantees its slow demise—a testament to how the smallest aperture can measure an infinite capacity for sensation.
Etymology
From pin + prick.
noun
- An insignificant puncture made by a pin or similar point.
- A mildly annoying wound or damage.
- A very tiny dot.e.g.“The stars were pinpricks of light in a clear night sky.”
verb
- To produce a jabbing sensation, like a pinprick, in.e.g.“The water pinpricked her face as she stepped into the shower.”
- To puncture with a tiny hole or holes.e.g.“By now it was dark, velvety dark with a moon, a darkness pinpricked by the lights from the landing place now drawing rapidly closer.” — 1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 144:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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