- 1[transitive, intransitive] prickle (something) to give someone an unpleasant feeling on their skin, as if a lot of small sharp points are pushing into it The rough cloth prickled my skin. His mustache prickled when he kissed me.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- 2[intransitive] prickle (with something) (of skin, eyes, etc.) to sting or feel strange and unpleasant because you are frightened, angry, excited, etc. Her eyes prickled with tears. The thought made her prickle with excitement. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled when I heard the door open. (figurative) He prickled (= became angry) at the suggestion that it had been his fault.
prickle
verbNAmE//ˈprɪkl//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they prickle he / she / it prickles
past simple prickled
-ing form prickling
Check pronunciation: prickle