piquancy
Americannoun
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the fact or quality of being pleasantly strong, sharp, or tart in taste or flavor.
Piquillo peppers, with their smoky, sweet piquancy, have a unique and irresistible flavor.
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the fact or quality of being interestingly provocative, stimulating, lively, attractive, etc..
These pithy sayings of his have more piquancy than objective truth.
Etymology
Origin of piquancy
Explanation
Something that tastes zesty or tangy has piquancy. The piquancy of your dad's spaghetti sauce is what makes it your favorite. Things with piquancy are exciting, either because of the way they taste or because they are fascinating. The mouth-watering piquancy of barbecued chicken is all about its flavor, and the piquancy of a thrilling ghost story is in the details. We can trace this noun back to piquant, "stimulating, pricking, or irritating" in Middle French.
Vocabulary lists containing piquancy
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
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Atonement
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Middlemarch
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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.
The piquancy of the book stems from Ms. Lemann’s evident sympathy for this point of view.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
Finally, a dose of horseradish gives the sauce a welcome piquancy.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 12, 2023
It wasn’t such an easy match for Stutzmann, however, who emphasized pleasant piquancy over pointed commentary, and carefully burnished the work’s rough-hewn edges.
From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 2023
Diced bits of radish, cabbage and white onion add bright crunch and piquancy to this comforting soup that never fails to warm me clean through to the soul.
From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2023
Still some novelty was necessary, to give to their return the piquancy with which I wished it to be invested.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
