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.
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.
From Newsweek • Sep. 18, 2013
Piquancy again, achieved now without that poor palliative, punishment of the evil-doer.
From A Second Book of Operas by Krehbiel, Henry Edward
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.
