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trenchant

American  
[tren-chuhnt] / ˈtrɛn tʃənt /

adjective

  1. incisive or keen, as language or a person; caustic; cutting.

    trenchant wit.
    Synonyms:
    acute, biting, sharp

  2. vigorous; effective; energetic.

    a trenchant policy of political reform.

  3. clearly or sharply defined; clear-cut; distinct.

trenchant British  
/ ˈtrɛntʃənt /

adjective

  1. keen or incisive

    trenchant criticism

  2. vigorous and effective

    a trenchant foreign policy

  3. distinctly defined

    a trenchant outline

  4. archaic sharp

    a trenchant sword
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • trenchancy noun
  • trenchantly adverb

Etymology

Origin of trenchant

1275–1325; Middle English tranchaunt < Anglo-French; Old French trenchant, present participle of trenchier to cut. See trench, -ant

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.

They dissect the most famous pas de deux with trenchant insight and introduce their audience to the greatest dancers, including Natalia Osipova and Roberto Bolle.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

He has trenchant critics, and potential rivals, but still has approval ratings of which most western leaders can only dream.

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026

But it’s consistently appealing, underpinned by fluent Broadway pop-rock melodies that, importantly, never overwhelm the lyrics, which are trenchant and clever.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025

Perhaps this nihilism will prove too trenchant and reactive for some viewers.

From Salon • Oct. 31, 2025

Yet it is well to remember that the abrupt and trenchant separations which popular practice loves are overridden to a deeper view by an essential unity of idea, reducing them to indifference.

From Hegel's Philosophy of Mind by Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich

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.