punchy
Americanadjective
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being or appearing vigorously effective; forceful.
adjective
-
an informal word for punch-drunk
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informal incisive or forceful
a punchy article
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of punchy
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.
See Examples For:
Reviews weren't allowed - but let's just say the new material, with its distorted guitars and punchy drums, sounded even better live.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The brine ties everything together and gives the salad a punchy Mediterranean flavor that makes it feel more intentional than it actually is.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026
But he does sugarcoat his technological limitations as a 67-year-old comic in the dreaded age of video calls with a punchy Chicano twist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Update his selection of 1980s ties with a slimmer but no less punchy style from Drake’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
The dogs were slipping on punchy snow, snow that was mostly ice.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
For a punchier pasta, try al limone: a dish that’s all zip and silk, bright as spring sunlight on a windowsill.
From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2025
Labour's new leader here relishes the public stage and appears determined to have a punchier presence.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2024
The songs blend the same ingredients the Stones have been using since the beginning — blues, rock, soul, country, gospel — but they’re tighter and punchier than on any of the band’s previous late-era LPs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2023
There is a choice of a fuel-conscious, non-turbocharged 191-horsepower four-cylinder engine or a punchier 281-horsepower turbo-four available in higher trims.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 18, 2023
One was slower and long-form, the other punchier, for singing after touchdowns.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 13, 2022
“GNX,” one of the rapper’s punchiest, most concise releases, is his fifth to get a nod for album of the year—though he has never taken home the trophy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
“Johnson is able to convey the largeness of human experience through the tiniest, punchiest sentences.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2025
In more ways than one, Bairstow is the great survivor of English cricket and there is genuine affection towards him from all areas of the game, even if he is the media's punchiest sparring partner.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2024
Our panel agreed that this was the punchiest tomato element on any of the pies, but Vaughn pronounced it too sweet, “the Lunchables of frozen pizza.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 31, 2023
She nodded, then hit me with the gut punchiest of all gut punches.
From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds
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.
