striking

/straɪkɪŋ/

/ˈstraɪkɪŋ/

Other forms: strikings

Something striking grabs your attention because it’s vivid and surprising. Many twins have a striking resemblance. People in red satin evening gowns, the pyramids in Egypt, and platform heels with fish in them are also striking.

Anything striking is hard not to notice; it almost hits, or strikes, you with surprise, like a toddler in a tuxedo. People can be striking, and so can landscapes — one of the most striking sights in the world is the Grand Canyon, which is why so many people visit just to look at it. Non-visual things can be striking too, like a striking thought that makes you shout, “Eureka!”

Definitions of striking

1. adjective

   having a quality that thrusts itself into attention
   “a striking thing about Picadilly Circus is the statue of Eros in the center”

   “a striking resemblance between parent and child”

   synonyms: outstanding, prominent, salient, spectacular

   conspicuous

   obvious to the eye or mind
2. adjective

   sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect
   “his striking good looks always created a sensation”

   synonyms: dramatic, spectacular

   impressive

   making a strong or vivid impression
3. noun

   the physical coming together of two or more things
   synonyms: contact, impinging

   types:

   collision, hit

   (physics) a brief event in which two or more bodies come together

   engagement, interlocking, mesh, meshing

   contact by fitting together

   flick

   a light sharp contact (usually with something flexible)

   impact

   the striking of one body against another

   touch, touching

   the event of something coming in contact with the body

   blow, bump

   an impact (as from a collision)

   slam

   a forceful impact that makes a loud noise

   brush, light touch

   momentary contact

   stroke

   a light touch

   type of:

   happening, natural event, occurrence, occurrent

   an event that happens
4. noun

   the act of contacting one thing with another
   synonyms: hit, hitting

   types:

   contusion

   the action of bruising

   crash, smash

   the act of colliding with something

   bunt

   (baseball) the act of hitting a baseball lightly without swinging the bat

   fly, fly ball

   (baseball) a hit that flies up in the air

   ground ball, groundball, grounder, hopper

   (baseball) a hit that travels along the ground

   header

   (soccer) the act of hitting the ball with your head

   scorcher, screamer

   a very hard hit ball

   plunk, plunker

   (baseball) hitting a baseball so that it drops suddenly

   impaction, impingement

   a sharp collision produced by striking or dashing against something

   blast

   a very long fly ball

   pop fly, pop-fly, pop-up

   a short high fly ball

   chop, chopper

   a grounder that bounces high in the air

   roller

   a grounder that rolls along the infield

   line drive, liner

   (baseball) a hit that flies straight out from the batter

   flare

   (baseball) a fly ball hit a short distance into the outfield

   Texas leaguer

   (baseball) a fly ball that falls between and infielder and an outfielder

   type of:

   touch, touching

   the act of putting two things together with no space between them