What does "pique" mean?
Enmity, ill feeling; (countable) a feeling of animosity or a dispute.
Pique
/piːk/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Enmity, ill feeling; (countable) a feeling of animosity or a dispute.
- Grammar: pique is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: irritation, affect the interest, aggravate, agitate.
- Useful contrasts: bore, calm, composure.
- Usage evidence: Foreign films often pique the interest of Americans only if they have a lot of action scenes.
How to use "pique"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pique" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "pique" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "pique" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pique" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "pique" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "irritation" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Enmity, ill feeling; (countable) a feeling of animosity or a dispute. uncountable
"Men take up piques and diſpleaſures at others, and then every opinion of the diſliked perſon muſt partake of his fate, and be engaged in the quarrel: […]"
- 2 In piquet, the right of the elder hand to count thirty in hand, or to play before the adversary counts one.
"Flip[panta]. Hark thee, Braſs, the Game's in our hands, if we can but play the Cards. / Br[ass]. Pique and Repique, you Jade you: If the Wives will fall into a good Intelligence."
- 3 A chigger, chigoe, or jigger (Tunga penetrans), a species of tropical flea. obsolete
- 4 Alternative form of piqué (“a kind of corded or ribbed fabric made from cotton, rayon, or silk”). alt-of, alternative, countable, uncountable
"Pique and linen also accented several coats and oftentimes were both detachable and formed an overcollar covering a collar made from the coat fabric."
- 5 Synonym of pica (“a disorder characterized by appetite and craving for non-edible substances”). obsolete, rare
"The World is nat'rally averse / To all the truth it sees or hears, / But swallows Non-sense and a Lie / With greediness and gluttony; / And though it have the Pique, and long, / 'Tis still for something in the wrong: […]"
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 tightly woven fabric with raised cords wordnet
- 7 Irritation or resentment awakened by a social injury or slight; offence, especially taken in an emotional sense with little consideration or thought; (countable) especially in fit of pique: a transient feeling of wounded pride. uncountable
"Tuſh! tuſh! you take the grave peake uppon you too much: who would think you could ſo eaſily ſhake off your olde friendes?"
- 8 midgie, sand fly, punkie, punky (US)
- 9 a sudden outburst of anger wordnet
- 10 In pique of honour: a matter, a point. countable, obsolete
"Add long preſcription of eſtabliſh'd laws, / And picque of honour to maintain a cauſe, / And ſhame of change, and fear of future ill, / And Zeal, the blind conductor of the will; […]"
Verb
- 1 To wound the pride of (someone); to excite to anger; to irritate, to offend. transitive
"The Dev'l was piqu'd, ſuch ſaintſhip to behold, / And long'd to tempt him like good Job of old: / But Satan novv is vviſer than of yore, / And tempts by making rich, not making poor."
- 2 To score a pique against (someone). ambitransitive, archaic, obsolete
"My villainous old luck ſtill follovvs me in gaming, I never throvv the Dice out of my hand, but my Gold goes after 'em: if I go to Picquet, though it be but vvith a Novice in't, he vvill picque and repicque, and Capot me tvventy times together: […]"
- 3 cause to feel resentment or indignation wordnet
- 4 To excite (someone) to action, especially by causing jealousy, resentment, etc.; also, to stimulate (an emotion or feeling, especially curiosity or interest). transitive
"I believe this will pique your interest."
- 5 To pride (oneself) on something. reflexive, transitive
"[G]ood Nature may be ſetled in them [children] into a Habit, and they may take pleaſure and pique themſelves in being kind, liberal, and civil to others."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 To excite or stimulate (oneself). obsolete, reflexive, transitive
- 7 To take pride in. intransitive
- 8 To excite to action, especially by causing jealousy, resentment, etc.; also, to stimulate an emotion or feeling, especially curiosity or interest. intransitive
"Piqu'd by Protogenes's Fame, / From Co to Rhodes, Apelles came; / To ſee a Rival and a Friend, / Prepar'd to Cenſure, or Commend, […]"
- 9 To express jealousy, resentment, etc. at someone; to become angry or annoyed. intransitive, obsolete, rare
"For I obſerve, that all vvomen of your condition are like the vvomen of the Play-houſe, ſtill Piquing at each other, vvho ſhall go the beſt Dreſt, and in the Richeſt Habits: till you vvork up one another by your high flying, as the Heron and Jerfalcon do."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Foreign films often pique the interest of Americans only if they have a lot of action scenes."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "pique"?
Common synonyms include: irritation, affect the interest, aggravate, agitate, anger, angry look.
How do you use "pique" in a sentence?
Foreign films often pique the interest of Americans only if they have a lot of action scenes.
How do you pronounce "pique"?
Pronounced /piːk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The verb is borrowed from French piquer (“to prick, sting; to anger, annoy; (reflexive) to get angry; to provoke, stimulate; (reflexive) to boast about”), from Middle French piquer, picquer (“to prick, sting; to anger, annoy; (reflexive) to get angry”), from Old French piquer (“to pierce with the tip of a sword”), from proto-Romance or Vulgar Latin *pīccare (“to sting; to strike”) or *pikkāre, and then either: * Onomatopoeic; or * from Frankish *pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic *pikkōną (“to knock; to peck; to pick; to prick”). If so, pique is a doublet of pick, pitch, and peck. The noun is borrowed from Middle French pique (“a quarrel; resentment”) (modern French pique), from piquer, picquer (verb); see above.
Etymology 2
The noun is borrowed from French pic, Middle French pic (“pique in the game of piquet; pike (tool)”), picq (“game of piquet”), from Vulgar Latin *pīccus (“sharp point, peak; pike, spike”), possibly from Frankish *pikk, *pīk, from Proto-Germanic *pikjaz, *pīkaz (“sharp point, peak; pickaxe; pike”); further etymology unknown. Doublet of pike. The verb is either derived from the noun (though the latter is attested in print later), or borrowed from French pic.
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Spanish pique, from Central Quechua piki.
Etymology 4
A variant of piqué, borrowed from French piqué (“(noun) ribbed fabric; (ballet) step on to the point of the leading foot without bending the knee; (adjective) backstitched; (cooking) larded”), Middle French piqué (“quilted”), a noun use of the past participle of piquer (“to prick, sting; to decorate with stitches; to quilt; to stitch (fabric) together; to lard (meat)”); see further at etymology 1.
Etymology 5
A variant of pica, or from its etymon Late Latin pica (“disorder characterized by appetite and craving for non-edible substances”), from Latin pīca (“jay; magpie”) (from the idea that magpies will eat almost anything), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peyk- (“magpie; woodpecker”).