zing
/zɪŋ
/informal
noun [mass noun]
Energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness: he was expected to add some zing to the lacklustre team...
- ‘Music is what we understand, music is what we care about and music is what adds zing to our life,’ the duo point out.
- Plenty of other top coaches are ready and waiting to add some movie-star zing to your serve this winter, at resorts from the Algarve to Antigua.
- Guthrie is convinced her marriage to Irion adds zing to their singing.
Synonyms
enthusiasm, zest, zestfulness, appetite, relish, gusto, eagerness, keenness, avidity, zeal, fervour, ardour, passion, love, enjoyment, joy, delight, pleasure, excitement;
vigour, verve, liveliness, sparkle, fizz, effervescence, fire, animation, vitality, dynamism, energy, buoyancy, brio, bounce, pep, spirit, spiritedness, exuberance, high spirits, high-spiritedness
informal zip, oomph, vim, pizzazz, get-up-and-go
verb
1 [no object] Move or vibrate swiftly or with a high-pitched buzzing noise: another bullet zinged past him...
- A bullet zinged past my leg through the water, followed by another.
- The air was zinging with the electrical charge, and it actually smelled scorched.
- There must be bad karma zinging around the world like a pinball hitting bumpers.
2 [with object] North American Attack or criticize sharply: he zinged the budget deal in interviews with journalists...
- Bozell zings him for ignoring the content-analysis work he and other conservatives have done.
- Some of this will involve zinging the president for misstatements he made or knocking him for other similar missteps.
- I wouldn't be picking on the French if they didn't take such delight in zinging the United States.
Derivatives
zingy
/ adjective (zingier, zingiest) ...- Try to avoid putting flame bright colours next to wishy-washy pink, or vice versa, but don't be afraid to mix bright colours in zingy combinations.
- The chef's salad was mostly iceberg lettuce - depressing in the winter, but a cooling crunch in the summer - with a zingy vinaigrette.
- We can't repackage politics in a zingy way to make it more interesting to young people if they're not interested.
Origin
Early 20th century: imitative.