I. -jənt adjective
Etymology: Latin pungent-, pungens, present participle of pungere to prick, sting; akin to Latin pugio dagger, pugnus fist, pugnare to fight, Greek pygmē fist, peukedanos sharp, piercing, peukē pine tree, Old High German fiuhta
1. : having a stiff and sharp point : prickly-pointed
a pungent ray on a fish
pungent leaves of holly
2. : sharply painful : penetrating , piercing , stabbing , acute
our sympathy becomes so pungent — Leslie Stephen
3.
a. : caustic , stinging, biting
a pungent editorial
pungent humor
a pungent truth
b. : pointed , telling , stimulating
fewer pages and shorter paragraphs help make it more pungent — H.T.Moore
compiled a collection which should serve as a pungent antidote to much of the fuzzy thinking — R.B.Morris
has drawn, with pungent finesse, the interior of a slum bistro — Books of the Month
a place of pungent contrasts — of dull monotony and indiscreet adventure — E.M.Lustgarten
4. : causing a sharp sensation : pricking , irritating , acrid
the autumn's pungent smell of burning leaves
tasting the pungent acidulous wood sorrel — John Burroughs
some half-forgotten but still pungent memories — Virginia Woolf
singers with coarse, pungent voices — H.F.Mooney
Synonyms:
piquant , poignant , racy , spicy , snappy : pungent may designate a sharp, piercing, stinging, biting, or penetrating quality, especially of odors; it may suggest power to excite or stimulate keen interest or telling force and cogency
the pungent odor of untanned leather
the pungent reek of a strong cigar — A. Conan Doyle
his pungent pen played its part in rousing the nation to its later struggle with the Crown — J.R.Green
the mob needs concrete goals and the pungent thrill of hate in order to give vent to its destructive impulses — M.R.Cohen
piquant may indicate an interesting or appetizing tartness, sharpness, or pungency that stimulates or a zestful, arch, provocative, challenging, or exciting quality that is individual or peculiar
a piquant sauce
piquant with the tart-sweet taste of green apples and sugar — Silas Spitzer
piquant touch of innocent malice in his narration — G.G.Coulton
those piquant incongruities, which are the chief material of wit — C.E.Montague
poignant may describe what is sharply or piercingly effective upon the senses or stirring to one's inmost consciousness or deepest emotions
the air of romantic poverty which Rosalie found so tragically poignant — Elinor Wylie
with poignant finality, as a lover might put away a rose from a lost romance — Agnes S. Turnbull
a vague but poignant sense of discouragement that the sacrifices of the war had not been justified by its results spread over the country — Oscar Handlin
racy may suggest verve, dash, tang, or vitality manifested with lively free heartiness
everybody who loves the language enough to want to keep it always young and racy ought to turn out too and keep the pedants from running amok — C.E.Montague
a rare and racy sense of humor — W.S.Maugham
spicy describes what is seasoned or made redolent of spice; in extended uses it may suggest the piquant, smart, spirited, sensational, or scandalous
flair for a spicy zestful vernacular in dialogue — Leslie Rees
spicy tales of the type which usually appear in paperbound copies, in which bishops are forced to visit nudist camps in their underwear — Robertson Davies
snappy suggests briskness, animation, dash, wit, or risqué quality
spoken in a snappy, matter-of-fact way — Vachel Lindsay
the renditions, if not especially lovely, were at all times spirited, neat, and snappy — Virgil Thomson
II. noun
( -s )
: a pungent substance
surprise is like a thrilling pungent upon a tasteless meat — Emily Dickinson