pungent

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“
And then it came -- pungent, acrid, bitter sweet, gathering in intensity second by second.

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Definitions (16)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. adjective Affecting the organs of taste or smell with a sharp acrid sensation.
  2. adjective Penetrating, biting, or caustic: pungent satire.
  3. adjective To the point; sharp: pungent talks during which the major issues were confronted.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (9)

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

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Examples (50)

  • He was lively, pungent, and naturally amiable—so amiable, as Thomas Jefferson would later write, that it was impossible not to warm to him. —  John Adams by David McCullough
  • Kuikin's eyes watered at the pungent, ammonial odor. —  F ;SF; - vol 104 issue 03 - March 2003
  • The air was pungent, and grew steadily more pungent as he neared her dwelling. —  F ;SF; - vol 096 issue 02 - February 1999
  • Lady Sandra's opinion of that was short and pungent, and she'd outright forbidden them at court, with the Protector's backing because sidesaddles weren't period. —  Map.html
  • If you enjoy a mixture of chrysanthemums for picking to bring into the house - and why shouldn't you: after all no other plant has quite the same pungent, autumnal smell - over a long period, sow a pot of F1 Chrysanthemum koreanum 'Fanfare' and bring them on to plant out in a spare corner. —  Blogposts | guardian.co.uk
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Related

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

acrid ·  musky ·  fragrant ·  salty ·  sour ·  oily ·  intoxicating ·  caustic ·  resinous ·  bitter ·  noxious ·  rancid
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. Latin pungēns, pungent-, present participle of pungere, to sting; see peuk- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = Spanish Portuguese Italian pungente, from Latin pungen(t-)s, present participle of pungere, pierce, prick, sting, penetrate: see point. From Latin pungere are also English punch, punction, puncheon(and prob. puncheon), point, punct, punctule, punctilio, punctilious, etc., punctual, punctuate, etc., puncture, compunction, expunge, pounce, poignant (doublet of pungent), etc.
 

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/ˈpəndʒənt/
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