Adjacent Words

Pungent definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PUN'GENT, a. [L. pungens,pungo.] Pricking; stimulating; as pungent snuff.
The pungent grains of titillating dust.
1. Acrid; affecting the tongue like small sharp points; as the sharp and pungent taste of acids.
2. Piercing; sharp; as pungent pains; pungent grief.
3. Acrimonious; biting.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: strong and sharp;"the pungent taste of radishes"; "the acrid smell of burning rubber" [syn: pungent, acrid]
2: capable of wounding; "a barbed compliment"; "a biting aphorism"; "pungent satire" [syn: barbed, biting, nipping, pungent, mordacious]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Latin pungent-, pungens, present participle of pungere to prick, sting; akin to Latin pugnus fist, pugnare to fight, Greek pygm? fist Date: 1597 1. sharply painful 2. having a stiff and sharp point <pungent leaves> 3. a. marked by a sharp incisive quality ; caustic <a pungent critic> <pungent language> b. being sharp and to the point 4. a. causing a sharp or irritating sensation; especially acrid b. having an intense flavor or odor <a pungent chili> • pungently adverb Synonyms: pungent, piquant, poignant, racy mean sharp and stimulating to the mind or the senses. pungent implies a sharp, stinging, or biting quality especially of odors <a cheese with a pungent odor>. piquant suggests a power to whet the appetite or interest through tartness or mild pungency <a piquant sauce>. poignant suggests something is sharply or piercingly effective in stirring one's emotions <felt a poignant sense of loss>. racy implies having a strongly characteristic natural quality fresh and unimpaired <spontaneous, racy prose>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 having a sharp or strong taste or smell, esp. so as to produce a pricking sensation. 2 (of remarks) penetrating, biting, caustic. 3 mentally stimulating. 4 Biol. having a sharp point. Derivatives: pungency n. pungently adv. Etymology: L pungent- pres. part. of pungere prick

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pungent Pun"gent, a. [L. pungens, -entis, p. pr. of pungere, punctum, to prick. Cf. Compunction, Expunge, Poignant, Point, n., Puncheon, Punctilio, Punt, v. t.] 1. Causing a sharp sensation, as of the taste, smell, or feelings; pricking; biting; acrid; as, a pungent spice. Pungent radish biting infant's tongue. --Shenstone. The pungent grains of titillating dust. --Pope. 2. Sharply painful; penetrating; poignant; severe; caustic; stinging. With pungent pains on every side. --Swift. His pungent pen played its part in rousing the nation. --J. R. Green. 3. (Bot.) Prickly-pointed; hard and sharp. Syn: Acrid; piercing; sharp; penetrating; acute; keen; acrimonious; biting; stinging.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Something that is pungent has a strong, sharp smell or taste which is often so strong that it is unpleasant. The more herbs you use, the more pungent the sauce will be. ...the pungent smell of burning rubber. ? delicate ADJ • pungency ...the spices that give Jamaican food its pungency. N-UNCOUNT: usu with poss 2. If you describe what someone has said or written as pungent, you approve of it because it has a direct and powerful effect and often criticizes something very cleverly. (FORMAL) He enjoyed the play's shrewd and pungent social analysis. ADJ [approval]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Smart, stinging, stimulating, pricking, sharp, biting, mordant, burning, caustic, pyrotic, hot, peppery, piercing, penetrating, piquant, acrid. 2. Acute, keen, trenchant, cutting, acrimonious, severe, peevish, tart, waspish, distressing, poignant, smart, painful, satirical, pointed.

Moby Thesaurus

Attic, acerb, acerbate, acerbic, acescent, acid, acrid, acrimonious, acute, afflictive, agonizing, amaroidal, aphoristic, aromatic, asperous, astringent, atrocious, axiomatic, barbed, biting, bitter, bitter as gall, brilliant, caustic, clever, coarse, consuming, crab, crabbed, cramping, crisp, cruel, cutting, deafening, distressing, droll, dry, epigrammatic, escharotic, exciting, excruciating, facetious, flavorful, formulaic, formulistic, funny, gnawing, gnomic, grave, green, griping, hard, harrowing, harsh, hot, humorous, humorsome, hurtful, hurting, incisive, intense, irritating, jesting, jocose, jocular, joking, joky, joshing, keen, keen-witted, lively, loud, mordant, nimble-witted, nose-piercing, nose-tickling, oppressive, painful, paroxysmal, penetrating, peppery, peppy, pickled, piercing, piquant, pithy, platitudinous, poignant, pointed, proverbial, provocative, quick-witted, racking, racy, rapier-like, reeking, rich, rough, salt, salty, sapid, sarcastic, scathing, scintillating, seasoned, sec, sententious, severe, sharp, shooting, smart, snappy, sour, sour as vinegar, soured, sourish, sparkling, spasmatic, spasmic, spasmodic, spicy, spirited, sprightly, stabbing, stern, stimulating, stinging, strong, strong-scented, strong-smelling, succinct, suffocating, tangy, tart, tartish, tasty, terse, thundering, tormenting, torturous, trenchant, uninteresting, unripe, unsweet, unsweetened, upsetting, vinegarish, vinegary, vitriolic, vivacious, whimsical, witty, zesty