Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Profoundly moving; touching: a poignant memory. See Synonyms at moving.
- adj. Physically painful: "Keen, poignant agonies seemed to shoot from his neck downward” ( Ambrose Bierce).
- adj. Keenly distressing to the mind or feelings: poignant anxiety.
- adj. Piercing; incisive: poignant criticism.
- adj. Neat, skillful, and to the point: poignant illustrations supplementing the text.
- adj. Astute and pertinent; relevant: poignant suggestions.
- adj. Agreeably intense or stimulating: poignant delight.
- adj. Archaic Sharp or sour to the taste; piquant.
- adj. Archaic Sharp or pungent to the smell.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Sharp to the taste; biting; piquant; pungent.
- Pointed; keen; sharp.
- Keen; bitter; satirical; hence, telling; striking.
- Severe; piercing; very painful or acute: as, poignant pain or grief.
- Synonyms and Piquant, etc. (see pungent), sharp, penetrating, intense, biting, acrid, caustic.
Wiktionary
- adj. obsolete, of a weapon, etc. Sharp-pointed; keen.
- adj. Incisive; penetrating.
- adj. neat; eloquent; applicable; relevant.
- adj. Evoking strong mental sensation, to the point of distress; emotionally moving.
- adj. figuratively, of a taste or smell Piquant, pungent.
- adj. figuratively Piercing.
- adj. dated, mostly British Inducing sharp physical pain.
GNU Webster's 1913
WordNet 3.0
- adj. arousing affect
- adj. keenly distressing to the mind or feelings
Etymologies
- From Anglo-Norman poynaunt, puignant et al., Middle French poignant, present participle of poindre ("to prick"), from Latin pungō ("prick"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English poinaunt, from Old French poignant, present participle of poindre, to prick, from Latin pungere. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“To "King" and others who mope like him, people - regardless of their party affiliation or ideology - cannot honestly have their perceptions modified or even tantalized by what they identify as poignant and powerfully moving moments.”
“Especially poignant is TV host Dave Holmes 'eloquent description of what it's like to be different as a young person.”
The Huffington Post: Lisa Kaas Boyle: It Will Get Better: Speaking out on Gay Suicides
“The reason I find this so poignant is that I was born in France in 1951, the son of a young US government economist, Joel Bernstein, who was on assignment by the U.S. State Department to work on the Marshall plan.”
“He tells us, in poignant and inspiring language, that the God he believes in is a God that is never disappointed with us, never doubts us and never gives up on us.”
The Huffington Post: Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater: Hope in the Fog of Fear
“Of many endeavors, one of the most poignant is Camp Felix, which provides a place for foster children to go in the summer where they can enjoy the same sort of support he enjoyed as a child, that launched him to such great success.”
The Huffington Post: Elizabeth Nicholas: Children's Rights at the Plaza
“He continues to grow people with disabilities in poignant roles ... he never writes down to the people.”
The Huffington Post: Deborah Calla: Awarding for Ability, Not Disability
“Personally, the coverage I've found most poignant is this piece about the time Michael Jackson inadvertantly dropped his sequined glove in the toilet.”
“The author, Olajide Williams, a Columbia University neurologist (and an attending neurologist at Harlem Hospital), … illustrates all aspects of stroke epidemiology and pathophysiology in poignant case histories from his own files, stories told in a way that makes each one human.”
HW Pick: Stroke Diaries: A Guide for Survivors and their Families «
“The discourse on global warming at 50graus. org is delivered in poignant actions, words and visual communication about our fears, understanding and hopes for the planet.”
“Also new at Midnight Eye, Dean Bowman: "Kwaidan harks back to a time when the ghost story was not a vehicle for delivering as many gore-ridden shocks to the audience as possible, but was concerned with creating a dense emotional atmosphere, rich in poignant moments of sadness and a pervasive sense of loss.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘poignant’.
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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allover
reintegrate, spight, surveillant, harmonize, Colophon, workplace, bigoted, unsighted, bridgework, salutation, voltmeter, octane and 159 more...
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501
Classic
mete, ire, bane, bilk, boor, elan, ado, toil, onus, aberration, abstruse, anomaly and 401 more...
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501
Classic
abhor, mirth, obtuse, iota, vex, irk, teem, pith, moot, mete, ire, bane and 401 more...
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GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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EN-HU - important words for a HU inte...
Words only (I left out the expressions) from Geza Kerenyi's EN-HU interpreters' dictionary. Most of them pose some difficulty when interpreted between HU and EN in either or both directions.
abalone, abrasive, abstractionist, abstruse, abysmal, academia, accessibility, accessible, acclimate, accolade, accompanist, achiever and 1469 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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INTERP - speeches can be...
adequate, adroit, blunt, blurred, committed, divisive, exacerbating, fitting, hollow, lengthy, murky, pronounced and 123 more...
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Words For Novel (Part 2)
fable, sprite, syphilitic, anvil, wonderstruck, vertigo, bridled, tufted, fettered, savvy, tweed fedora, tryst and 255 more...
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The blues
lugubrious, mournful, doleful, plaintive, tremulous, plangent, dyspeptic, morose, poignant, lamenting, lamentation, sad and 8 more...
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GRE
trope, surreptitious, tenet, insular, munificent, exegesis, limpid, acerbic, litany, cupidity, restive, protract and 105 more...
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GRE 1100
drudgery, implore, hapless, nuance, wrest, incipient, inadvertent, tremulous, bristle, euphemism, disdain, pugnacious and 346 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1901 more...
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1100 words you need to know
GRE words
voracious, indiscriminate, replete, steeped, eminent, perceive, intrepid, compound, automaton, reticent, interminable, drudgery and 288 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for poignant.
waltermargin One of my favourite words – something capable of puncturing the most shielded heart. Oct 12, 2009
bilby I think the g in the middle of this word is exquisitely poignant bit. Nov 14, 2008