adjective
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keen or incisive
trenchant criticism
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vigorous and effective
a trenchant foreign policy
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distinctly defined
a trenchant outline
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archaic sharp
a trenchant sword
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of trenchant
1275–1325; Middle English tranchaunt < Anglo-French; Old French trenchant, present participle of trenchier to cut. See trench, -ant
Explanation
If you're trenchant, it means you think or say smart, sharply worded things that cut right to the heart of the matter. A trenchant observation is one that makes people scratch their chins thoughtfully, or wince with embarrassment for whomever you're talking about, or both. The word trenchant originates from tranchant, which in French means "sharp" or "cutting," and it's related to the word trench, which originally meant a line carved in wood and later came to mean a ditch carved into the earth. The word is often used to describe political commentary or cultural criticism. One person known for her trenchant wit was the author and critic Mary McCarthy, who once said of the writer Lillian Hellman, "Every word she writes is a lie, including the 'and' and the 'the'."
Vocabulary lists containing trenchant
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Since becoming the first US-born pope a year ago this week, Leo XIV's measured style has given way to a trenchant tone in an ongoing confrontation with US President Donald Trump.
From Barron's • May 6, 2026
But he offers the trenchant point that it intersperses high-intensity plays with huddled breaks.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
Anchored by Huertas’ blazing performance, Pierre Saint-Martin’s trenchant debut plays both as a portrait of a person stuck in a state of perpetual grieving and an indictment of a troubled country.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2025
Perhaps this nihilism will prove too trenchant and reactive for some viewers.
From Salon • Oct. 31, 2025
It is the part of the poet to make his work intensely real and ideal, the two elements that appeal with trenchant force to children.
From Special Method in the Reading of Complete English Classics In the Grades of the Common School by McMurry, Charles A. (Charles Alexander)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
