Poignant
//ˈpɔɪnjənt// adj
adj ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Sharp-pointed; keen. obsolete, usually
"His siluer shield, now idle maisterlesse; / His poynant speare, that many made to bleed [...]."
- 2 Neat; eloquent; applicable; relevant.
"A poignant reply will garner more credence than hours of blown smoke."
- 3 Evoking strong mental sensation, to the point of distress; emotionally moving.
"Flipping through his high school yearbook evoked many a poignant memory of yesteryear."
- 4 Piquant, pungent. figuratively
- 5 Incisive; penetrating; piercing. figuratively
"His comments were poignant and witty."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Inducing sharp physical pain. British, dated
Adjective
- 1 arousing affect wordnet
- 2 keenly distressing to the mind or feelings wordnet
Example
More examples"The eating of delicious food is one of the most intense and poignant pleasures of life."
Etymology
From Middle English poynaunt, poynant, borrowed from Anglo-Norman puignant, poynaunt etc., present participle of poindre (“to prick”), from Latin pungō (“prick”). Doublet of pungent.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.