Skip to content

cingler

lash, sting

verb san-GLEH Less Common

Also means

sail (a ship)

Usage Note

Cingler covers both a sharp physical sting — like a whip or cold wind — and sailing toward a destination. The adjectival form cinglant ('stinging, biting') is more common in everyday writing, describing a cutting remark or bitter cold.

Examples

"Le vent cinglait son visage."

Natural Translation

The wind stung his face.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore French by topic