take the sting out of sth
Definition
› If something takes the sting out of an unpleasant situation, it makes it less unpleasant: The new policy of shorter working hours will serve to take the sting out of the pay cut.Making things betterBecoming better
(Definition of take the sting out of sth from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
Browse related topics
You are looking at an entry to do with Making things better, but you might be interested in these topics from the Doing and achieving topic area:
- Abstaining and refraining
- Acting and acts
- Avoiding action
- Becoming better
- Cancelling and interrupting
- Competing and contending (non-sporting)
- Coping and not coping
- Delaying and wasting time
- Describing the leading position
- Efficient and effective
- Expressions telling people to hurry up
- Failing and doing badly
- Failures
- Getting involved for one's own benefit or against others' will
- Hesitating
- Higher and lower points of achievement
- Hurrying and doing things quickly
- Making progress and advancing
- Performing a function
- Potential
- Reacting and responding
- Repeating an action
- Succeeding, achieving and fulfilling
- Success and achievements
- Successful (things or people)
- Surpassing in quality or number
- Taking part and getting involved
- Trying and making an effort
- Unsuccessful (people and things)
- Waiting
- Ways of achieving things
Browse the Dictionary
-
take the long view idiom
-
take the piss (out of) sb or sth idiom
-
take the plunge idiom
-
take the rough with the smooth idiom
-
take the salute idiom
- take the sting out of sth idiom
-
take the time idiom
-
take the weight off your feet/legs idiom
-
take the wind out of sb's sails idiom
-
take the words out of sb's mouth idiom
-
take the wraps off sth idiom
Browse the Thesaurus
SMART Thesaurus
Synonyms and related words:
- a shot in the arm idiom
- add salt to sth idiom
- allay verb
- alleviate verb
- ameliorate verb
- deepen verb (COMPLICATED)
- humanize verb
- improve on/upon sth phrasal verb
- improve verb
- invigorate verb
- iterative adjective
- lighten verb (MAKE LESS HEAVY)
- rationalize verb (CHANGE)
- rectify verb (CORRECT)
- rehabilitate verb
- revitalize verb
- revivify verb
- revolutionize verb
- salvage verb
- save the day idiom
Topic:
Making things better
Our dictionaries
Word of the Day
throw sb together
If two people are thrown together, they meet each other in a way that was not planned, or events...
Blog
Read our blog about how the English language behaves.
New Words
Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.
