Word.ws English Dictionary

rubs salt in someone's wounds

rubs salt in someone's wounds is the third-person singular simple present indicative of rub salt in someone's wounds.

Meaning of rub salt in someone's wounds

Verb

rub salt in someone's wounds (third-person singular simple present rubs salt in someone's wounds, present participle rubbing salt in someone's wounds, simple past and past participle rubbed salt in someone's wounds)

  1. (idiomatic) To make a painful situation even worse (even with the best of intentions).
    • John already feels guilty for what he did to you. Don't rub salt into his wounds.

Questions about rubs salt in someone's wounds

What is rubs salt in someone's wounds the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Rubs salt in someone's wounds is the third-person singular simple present indicative of rub salt in someone's wounds.

Words near rubs salt in someone's wounds in the dictionary

  1. rubs one's face with a brass candlestick
  2. rubs one's hands
  3. rubs one's hands together
  4. rubs oneself off
  5. rubs out
  6. rubs salt in someone's wounds
  7. rubs salt in the wound
  8. rubs shoulders
  9. rubs someone the wrong way
  10. rubs someone up the wrong way
  11. rubs someone's face in

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: rubs salt in someone's wounds (page history and authors); rub salt in someone's wounds (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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