"rub salt in the wound" meaning in English

See rub salt in the wound in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: En-au-rub salt in the wound.ogg [Australia] Forms: rubs salt in the wound [present, singular, third-person], rubbing salt in the wound [participle, present], rubbed salt in the wound [participle, past], rubbed salt in the wound [past]
Etymology: Derived from the stinging sensation of salt deliberately being rubbed into an open, bleeding wound. Head templates: {{en-verb|*|head=rub salt in the wound}} rub salt in the wound (third-person singular simple present rubs salt in the wound, present participle rubbing salt in the wound, simple past and past participle rubbed salt in the wound)
  1. (idiomatic) To make an injury, physical or emotional, feel worse. Tags: idiomatic Categories (topical): Violence Synonyms: add insult to injury, kick someone when they are down, twist the knife, rub it in, make matters worse, rub salt in someone's wounds, rub salt into the wounds Translations (to make an injury feel worse): কাটা ঘায়ে নুনের ছিটে (kaṭa ghaẏe nuner chiṭe) (Bengali), 雪上加霜 (xuě shàng jiā shuāng) (Chinese Mandarin), carağa tuz basmaq (Crimean Tatar), vääntää veistä haavassa (Finnish), remuer le couteau dans la plaie (French), Salz in die Wunde streuen (German), den Finger in die Wunde legen (German), ρίχνω αλάτι στην πληγή (ríchno aláti stin pligí) (Greek), ξύνω πληγές (xýno pligés) (Greek), זָרָה מֶלַח עַל הַפְּצָעִים (zará mélaẖ 'al happ'tza'ím) (Hebrew), जले पर नमक छिड़कना (jale par namak chiṛaknā) (Hindi), sót dörzsöl a sebbe (Hungarian), mettere il dito nella piaga (Italian), 傷口に塩を塗る (kizuguchi ni shio o nuru) (Japanese), जखमेवर मिठ चोळणे (jakhmevar miṭh coḷṇe) (Marathi), strø salt i såret (Norwegian), posypywać rany solą [imperfective] (Polish), posypać rany solą [perfective] (Polish), esfregar sal na ferida (Portuguese), pôr o dedo na ferida (Portuguese), a pune sare pe rană (Romanian), сы́пать соль на ра́ну (sýpatʹ solʹ na ránu) (Russian), frotar sal en la herida (Spanish), hurgar en la herida (Spanish), meter el dedo en la herida (Spanish), hechar sal en la herida (Spanish), strö salt i såren (Swedish), yaraya tuz basmak (Turkish)
    Sense id: en-rub_salt_in_the_wound-en-verb-xm4XAD6q Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for rub salt in the wound meaning in English (6.0kB)

{
  "etymology_text": "Derived from the stinging sensation of salt deliberately being rubbed into an open, bleeding wound.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "rubs salt in the wound",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "rubbing salt in the wound",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "rubbed salt in the wound",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "rubbed salt in the wound",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "head": "rub salt in the wound"
      },
      "expansion": "rub salt in the wound (third-person singular simple present rubs salt in the wound, present participle rubbing salt in the wound, simple past and past participle rubbed salt in the wound)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Violence",
          "orig": "en:Violence",
          "parents": [
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2023 January 11, Richard Foster, “British Rail's weirdest railways...: Vale of Rheidol”, in RAIL, number 974, page 47",
          "text": "To rub further salt into the wound, the narrow-gauge locomotives and rolling stock received the new corporate blue livery and double arrows logo.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make an injury, physical or emotional, feel worse."
      ],
      "id": "en-rub_salt_in_the_wound-en-verb-xm4XAD6q",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To make an injury, physical or emotional, feel worse."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "add insult to injury"
        },
        {
          "word": "kick someone when they are down"
        },
        {
          "word": "twist the knife"
        },
        {
          "word": "rub it in"
        },
        {
          "word": "make matters worse"
        },
        {
          "word": "rub salt in someone's wounds"
        },
        {
          "word": "rub salt into the wounds"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "bn",
          "lang": "Bengali",
          "roman": "kaṭa ghaẏe nuner chiṭe",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "কাটা ঘায়ে নুনের ছিটে"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "xuě shàng jiā shuāng",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "雪上加霜"
        },
        {
          "code": "crh",
          "lang": "Crimean Tatar",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "carağa tuz basmaq"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "vääntää veistä haavassa"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "remuer le couteau dans la plaie"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "Salz in die Wunde streuen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "den Finger in die Wunde legen"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ríchno aláti stin pligí",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "ρίχνω αλάτι στην πληγή"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "xýno pligés",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "ξύνω πληγές"
        },
        {
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "roman": "zará mélaẖ 'al happ'tza'ím",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "זָרָה מֶלַח עַל הַפְּצָעִים"
        },
        {
          "code": "hi",
          "lang": "Hindi",
          "roman": "jale par namak chiṛaknā",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "जले पर नमक छिड़कना"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "sót dörzsöl a sebbe"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "mettere il dito nella piaga"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "kizuguchi ni shio o nuru",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "傷口に塩を塗る"
        },
        {
          "code": "mr",
          "lang": "Marathi",
          "roman": "jakhmevar miṭh coḷṇe",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "जखमेवर मिठ चोळणे"
        },
        {
          "code": "no",
          "lang": "Norwegian",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "strø salt i såret"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "posypywać rany solą"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "posypać rany solą"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "esfregar sal na ferida"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "pôr o dedo na ferida"
        },
        {
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "a pune sare pe rană"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "sýpatʹ solʹ na ránu",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "сы́пать соль на ра́ну"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "frotar sal en la herida"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "hurgar en la herida"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "meter el dedo en la herida"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "hechar sal en la herida"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "strö salt i såren"
        },
        {
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
          "word": "yaraya tuz basmak"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-rub salt in the wound.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/89/En-au-rub_salt_in_the_wound.ogg/En-au-rub_salt_in_the_wound.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/En-au-rub_salt_in_the_wound.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "rub salt in the wound"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "Derived from the stinging sensation of salt deliberately being rubbed into an open, bleeding wound.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "rubs salt in the wound",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "rubbing salt in the wound",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "rubbed salt in the wound",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "rubbed salt in the wound",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "head": "rub salt in the wound"
      },
      "expansion": "rub salt in the wound (third-person singular simple present rubs salt in the wound, present participle rubbing salt in the wound, simple past and past participle rubbed salt in the wound)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
        "en:Violence"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2023 January 11, Richard Foster, “British Rail's weirdest railways...: Vale of Rheidol”, in RAIL, number 974, page 47",
          "text": "To rub further salt into the wound, the narrow-gauge locomotives and rolling stock received the new corporate blue livery and double arrows logo.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make an injury, physical or emotional, feel worse."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To make an injury, physical or emotional, feel worse."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "add insult to injury"
        },
        {
          "word": "kick someone when they are down"
        },
        {
          "word": "twist the knife"
        },
        {
          "word": "rub it in"
        },
        {
          "word": "make matters worse"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-rub salt in the wound.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/89/En-au-rub_salt_in_the_wound.ogg/En-au-rub_salt_in_the_wound.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/En-au-rub_salt_in_the_wound.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "rub salt in someone's wounds"
    },
    {
      "word": "rub salt into the wounds"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bn",
      "lang": "Bengali",
      "roman": "kaṭa ghaẏe nuner chiṭe",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "কাটা ঘায়ে নুনের ছিটে"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "xuě shàng jiā shuāng",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "雪上加霜"
    },
    {
      "code": "crh",
      "lang": "Crimean Tatar",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "carağa tuz basmaq"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "vääntää veistä haavassa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "remuer le couteau dans la plaie"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "Salz in die Wunde streuen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "den Finger in die Wunde legen"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ríchno aláti stin pligí",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "ρίχνω αλάτι στην πληγή"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "xýno pligés",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "ξύνω πληγές"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "roman": "zará mélaẖ 'al happ'tza'ím",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "זָרָה מֶלַח עַל הַפְּצָעִים"
    },
    {
      "code": "hi",
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "roman": "jale par namak chiṛaknā",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "जले पर नमक छिड़कना"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "sót dörzsöl a sebbe"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "mettere il dito nella piaga"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "kizuguchi ni shio o nuru",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "傷口に塩を塗る"
    },
    {
      "code": "mr",
      "lang": "Marathi",
      "roman": "jakhmevar miṭh coḷṇe",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "जखमेवर मिठ चोळणे"
    },
    {
      "code": "no",
      "lang": "Norwegian",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "strø salt i såret"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "posypywać rany solą"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "posypać rany solą"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "esfregar sal na ferida"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "pôr o dedo na ferida"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "a pune sare pe rană"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "sýpatʹ solʹ na ránu",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "сы́пать соль на ра́ну"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "frotar sal en la herida"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "hurgar en la herida"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "meter el dedo en la herida"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "hechar sal en la herida"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "strö salt i såren"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "to make an injury feel worse",
      "word": "yaraya tuz basmak"
    }
  ],
  "word": "rub salt in the wound"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-16 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (e268c0e and 304864d). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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