poignancy

[ poin-yuh n-see, poin-uh n- ]

/ ˈpɔɪn yən si, ˈpɔɪn ən- /

the state or condition of being poignant.

a poignant moment, event, situation, or the like.

Nearby words

First recorded in 1680–90; poign(ant) + -ancy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

The signs have a poignancy, says Moss, “because there is a tension in them in what they are not saying,” he says.
The End of New York: How One Blog Tracks the Disappearance of a Vibrant City|Tim Teeman|August 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Once edgily shocking, the show now feels rich with pathos and poignancy.
Who Will Win the Tony Awards?|Janice Kaplan|June 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The drive to find the cause and cure of autism rivals the urgency and poignancy to find the cause and cure of cancer.
No, PETA, Cow Milk Does Not Cause Autism|Kent Sepkowitz|May 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Either way, part of the tragedy and poignancy of polio is its preferential spread to babies and toddlers.
Who’s to Blame for Global Polio Emergency?|Kent Sepkowitz|May 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

My normalcy has its own poignancy and beauty to it that most hearing people will never know.
This Is What It Is Like To Be Deaf From Birth|Quora Contributor|December 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This poignancy of grief may be accounted for in part by the previous long-continued strain of overwork.
The Hill|Horace Annesley Vachell
And her first view of Scotland only increased the poignancy of these touching regrets.
The Illustrated London Reading Book|Various
It seems to point to a possible satisfaction; and yet it owes its poignancy to the fact that the heart is still unsatisfied.
The Silent Isle|Arthur Christopher Benson
It added not a little to the poignancy of this retort that the telegram was sent "collect."
From Pillar to Post|John Kendrick Bangs
And so began for Sylvia the visit which always afterward stood out in her memory unique in the poignancy of its novel impressions.
The Opened Shutters|Clara Louise Burnham

1680s, "sharpness, keenness," from poignant + -cy.