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What is the difference between stab and thrust?

stab | thrust |

Thrust is a synonym of stab.



In transitive terms the difference between stab and thrust

is that stab is to thrust in a stabbing motion while thrust is to push or drive with force; to shove.

In intransitive terms the difference between stab and thrust

is that stab is to cause a sharp, painful sensation (often used with at) while thrust is to enter by pushing; to squeeze in.

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

    thrust

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (fencing) An attack made by moving the sword parallel to its length and landing with the point.
  • Pierre was a master swordsman, and could parry the thrusts of lesser men with barely a thought.
  • A push, stab, or lunge forward (the act thereof.)
  • The cutpurse tried to knock her satchel from her hands, but she avoided his thrust and yelled, "Thief!"
  • The force generated by propulsion, as in a jet engine.
  • Spacecraft are engineering marvels, designed to resist the thrust of liftoff, as well as the reverse pressure of the void.
  • (figuratively) The primary effort; the goal.
  • Ostensibly, the class was about public health in general, but the main thrust was really sex education.

    Synonyms

    * (push, stab, or lunge forward ): break, dart, grab * (force generated by propulsion ): lift, push * (primary effort or goal ): focus, gist, point

    Verb

  • (lb) To make advance with .
  • :
  • (lb) To something upon someone.
  • :
  • (lb) To push out or extend rapidly or powerfully.
  • :
  • *
  • *:Three chairs of the steamer type, all maimed, comprised the furniture of this roof-garden, withon one of the copings a row of four red clay flower-pots filled with sun-baked dust from which gnarled and rusty stalks thrust themselves up like withered elfin limbs.
  • (lb) To push or drive with force; to shove.
  • :
  • *(John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • *:Into a dungeon thrust , to work with slaves.
  • (lb) To enter by pushing; to squeeze in.
  • *(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • *:And thrust between my father and the god.
  • To stab; to pierce; usually with through .
  • Synonyms

    * (advance with force) attack, charge, rush * (force upon someone) compel, charge, force * (push out or extend rapidly and powerfully) dart, reach, stab