impales
Stabs right through
Impales is the third-person singular of impale, meaning to pierce through with a sharp object.
Vlad the Impaler earned his name by driving stakes through victims.
The word extends to any painful or dramatic piercing: The falling icicle impaled his shoe.
Figuratively, a hostile question or accusation can impale someone: Her cross-examination impaled the witness.
Pointed rods for cooking
- stabsPiercing knife wounds
- spearsPointed pole weapons
- puncturesPierces to make holes
- transfixesHolds motionless with fascination
lances · runs through · stakes · gores · pikes · penetrates · bayonets · pins
Common Slavic given name
- stakeSharpened post or share
- tortureDeliberate infliction of suffering
- punishmentPenalty for an offense
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
display · public · gruesome · victim · death · cruelty · barbaric · pole
Expresses unfavorable judgment
- skewersPointed rods for cooking
- exposesMakes visible or known
- ridiculesSubjects to contemptuous laughter
- satirizesMocks through exaggeration
mocks · devastates · eviscerates · lampoons · roasts · demolishes · shreds · attacks
Individual for examination
- pinPointed metal fastener
- entomologyStudy of insects
- butterflyWinged insect from caterpillar
- mountingSteadily increasing in degree
display · collection · board · preserved · thorax · lepidopterist · cabinet · spread
skewers
Pointed rods for cooking
transfixes · lances · runs through · stakes · gores · pikes · penetrates · bayonets · pins · prongs
Vlad
Common Slavic given name
- stakeSharpened post or share
- tortureDeliberate infliction of suffering
- punishmentPenalty for an offense
medieval · display · public · gruesome · victim · death · cruelty · barbaric · pole · wooden
criticizes
Expresses unfavorable judgment
- skewersPointed rods for cooking
- exposesMakes visible or known
- ridiculesSubjects to contemptuous laughter
satirizes · mocks · devastates · eviscerates · lampoons · roasts · demolishes · shreds · attacks · pierces
specimen
Individual for examination
- pinPointed metal fastener
- entomologyStudy of insects
- butterflyWinged insect from caterpillar
mounting · display · collection · board · preserved · thorax · lepidopterist · cabinet · spread · wings
- Vlad the ImpalerMedieval ruler infamous for impalement