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Pang vs Stab - What's the difference?

pang | stab |

In transitive terms the difference between pang and stab

is that pang is to torment; to torture; to cause to have great pain or suffering while stab is to thrust in a stabbing motion.

pang

English

(Webster 1913)

Noun

(en noun)
  • (often, pluralized) paroxysm of extreme physical pain or anguish; sudden and transitory agony; throe
  • * 1591 , , Henry VI, Part II , act 3, sc. 3,
  • See, how the pangs of death do make him grin!
  • * 1888 , , "The Nightingale and the Rose" in The Happy Prince and Other Tales ,
  • So the Nightingale pressed closer against the thorn, and the thorn touched her heart, and a fierce pang of pain shot through her.
  • (often, pluralized) A sharp, sudden feeling of a mental or emotional nature, as of joy or sorrow
  • * 1867 , , The Guardian Angel , ch. 7,
  • He was startled with a piece of information which gave him such an exquisite pang of delight that he could hardly keep the usual quiet of his demeanor.

    Verb

  • to torment; to torture; to cause to have great pain or suffering
  • * 1918 , , "On Unanswering Letters" in Mince Pie ,
  • It panged him so to say good-bye when he had to leave.

    stab

    English

    (wikipedia stab)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An act of stabbing or thrusting with an object.
  • A wound made by stabbing.
  • Pain inflicted on a person's feelings.
  • (informal) An attempt.
  • I'll give this thankless task a stab .
  • Criticism.
  • (music) A single staccato chord that adds dramatic impact to a composition.
  • a horn stab

    Derived terms

    * have a stab at, take a stab at * stabbing * stabby * stab vest * stab in the dark * stab in the back

    Verb

    (stabb)
  • To pierce or to wound (somebody) with a pointed tool or weapon, especially a knife or dagger.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1905, author=
  • , title= , chapter=1 citation , passage=“There the cause of death was soon ascertained?; the victim of this daring outrage had been stabbed to death from ear to ear with a long, sharp instrument, in shape like an antique stiletto, which […] was subsequently found under the cushions of the hansom. […]”}}
  • To thrust in a stabbing motion.
  • To recklessly hit with the tip of a pointed object, such as a weapon or finger .
  • * (John Dryden)
  • None shall dare / With shortened sword to stab in closer war.
  • To cause a sharp, painful sensation .
  • (figurative) To injure secretly or by malicious falsehood or slander.
  • Derived terms

    * stabber