pungent
[puhn-juh nt]
- sharply affecting the organs of taste or smell, as if by a penetrating power; biting; acrid.
- acutely distressing to the feelings or mind; poignant.
- caustic, biting, or sharply expressive: pungent remarks.
- mentally stimulating or appealing: pungent wit.
- Biology. piercing or sharp-pointed.
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Origin of pungent
Synonyms
See more synonyms for pungent on Thesaurus.com1. hot, peppery, piquant, sharp. 3. sarcastic, mordant, cutting; acrimonious, bitter. 4. keen, sharp.
Antonyms
1. mild, bland. 3. soothing. 4. dull.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for pungent
Contemporary Examples
Regardless, that goes double for a hippy isle full of expats and pungent pot known as Bocas del Toro.
Their free clinic in central Athens is housed in a shabby apartment that smells of feverish bodies and pungent medicine.
On move-in day I opened the front door to a pungent, musky odor of pure mold.
Women who use the pungent coverup make less money than fully topless dancers, but many seem to prefer the alternative.
New hires are also warned not to wear perfume or aftershave that is too pungent.
Historical Examples
This conduct bespeaks the most pungent and unaffected sorrow.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. IIFrancis Augustus Cox
It burns like oil, is of a pungent scent, and a blackish color.
The insipid odour of the meat, the pungent smell of the tripe exasperated him.
The Fat and the ThinEmile Zola
In all plants which I have found the odor is somewhat strong and the taste is pungent.
The Mushroom, Edible and OtherwiseM. E. Hard
The air was thick with the odor of raw blood and pungent with ozone.
The Martian CabalRoman Frederick Starzl
pungent
- having an acrid smell or sharp bitter flavour
- (of wit, satire, etc) biting; caustic
- biology ending in a sharp pointa pungent leaf
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin pungens piercing, from pungere to prick
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for pungent
adj.
1590s, "sharp, poignant" (of pain or grief), from Latin pungentem (nominative pungens), present participle of pungere "to prick, pierce, sting," figuratively, "to vex, grieve, trouble, afflict," related to pugnus "fist" (see pugnacious). Meaning "having powerful odor or taste" first recorded 1660s. Literal sense "sharp, pointed" (c.1600) is very rare in English, mostly limited to botany. Middle English and early Modern English also had a now-obsolete verb punge "to prick, pierce; to smart, cause to sting," from Latin pungere. Related: Pungently.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper