piquant

[pee-kuhnt, -kahnt, pee-kahnt]

See more synonyms for piquant on Thesaurus.com

adjective

agreeably pungent or sharp in taste or flavor; pleasantly biting or tart: a piquant aspic.
agreeably stimulating, interesting, or attractive: a piquant glance.
of an interestingly provocative or lively character: a piquant wit.

Archaic. sharp or stinging, especially to the feelings.

Origin of piquant

1515–25; < French: literally, pricking (see pique¹, -ant); replacing pickante < Italian piccante

Related formspi·quan·cy, pi·quant·ness, nounpi·quant·ly, adverb

Synonyms for piquant

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

1. spicy. 2. intriguing. 3. sharp, clever.

Antonyms for piquant

1. insipid.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for piquancy

relish, zest, flavoring, tang, sharpness, liveliness, salt, raciness, spice

Examples from the Web for piquancy

Contemporary Examples of piquancy

Piquancy is added to the last point because the other main contender for Fed chair is a woman, and a highly qualified one at that.
Will Obama Learn the Right Lesson From the Summers Debacle?
Michael Tomasky
September 18, 2013

Historical Examples of piquancy

He measured its value by its piquancy, by its adaptability to epigrammatic rhymes.
The Life of Cesare Borgia
Raphael Sabatini
Call it, for the sake of piquancy, "Beethoven and Esterhazy."
Old Fogy
James Huneker
He imagined that that sort of thing lent a piquancy to conversation.
A Venetian June
Anna Fuller
And it gains in piquancy from the fact that everybody knows the personages.
A Chambermaid's Diary
Octave Mirbeau
He was more famous for his wit than his wisdom; for his piquancy than for piety.
One Irish Summer
William Eleroy Curtis

British Dictionary definitions for piquancy

piquant

adjective

having an agreeably pungent or tart taste
lively or stimulating to the mind

Derived Formspiquancy or rare piquantness, nounpiquantly, adverb

Word Origin for piquant

C16: from French (literally: prickling), from piquer to prick, goad; see pique 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for piquancy

1660s, from piquant + -cy.

piquant

adj.

1520s, from Middle French piquant "pricking, stimulating, irritating," present participle of piquer "to prick, sting, nettle" (see pike (n.2)).