piquant

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“
Her physiognomy is keen and piquant, her expression reveals all the emotions of her soul—she does not have to say what she thinks, one guesses it.

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Definitions (12)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. adjective Pleasantly pungent or tart in taste; spicy.
  2. adjective Appealingly provocative: a piquant wit.
  3. adjective Charming, interesting, or attractive: a piquant face.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (4)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • What makes the Clinton story piquant is the messy reality of Bill thrown into the mix. —  British Blogs
  • Wine pairing: The piquant, herbal sauce drives this pairing. —  Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Local News
  • His sarcasm was so much the more cruel as it was witty and piquant, and as it seized with precision upon every point open to ridicule. —  Classic French Course in English
  • There was something piquant, almost risqué in the constant repetition of a really wicked word like 'Satan' in the halls of a nunnery. —  Hyacinth
  • Her physiognomy is keen and piquant, her expression reveals all the emotions of her soul—she does not have to say what she thinks, one guesses it. —  Women of Modern France
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

racy ·  witty ·  pungent ·  agreeable ·  amuse ·  alluring ·  poignant ·  instructive ·  exotic ·  captivate ·  intoxicating ·  vivacious
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French, from Old French, present participle of piquer, to prick; see pique.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Formerly also picquant; from French piquant (= Spanish Portuguese picante = Italian piccante), stinging. pungent, piercing, keen, sharp, present participle of piquer, prick, pierce, sting: see pike, v., and cf. pique.
 

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/ˈpikənt/
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