poignant

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˈpɔɪnjənt/ 🇺🇸 /ˈpɔɪnjənt/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret; deeply moving and touching.; Sharply affecting the senses; pungent or sharp in taste or smell.; Keenly felt; acute or intense, especially of pain or distress.; Pointed; sharp; piercing (archaic).

🔗 Details

Word forms

Comparative: more poignant Superlative: most poignant

Collocations

poignant reminderpoignant momentpoignant storypoignant tributepoignant imagedeeply poignant

Derivatives

poignantlypoignancy

Synonyms

movingtouchingaffectingheartrendingstirringemotive

Antonyms

indifferentunmoving

Commonly confused

pungent
EN: 'Pungent' refers to a sharp smell or taste, while 'poignant' refers to something emotionally moving or bittersweet; both derive from Latin 'pungere' (to prick).
poignancy
EN: 'Poignancy' is the noun form referring to the quality of being poignant, while 'poignant' is the adjective.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember the silent 'g': it is 'poignant', not 'poinant' or 'poigniant'. The 'oi' digraph and silent 'g' make this a frequently misspelled word.

💬 Examples

  1. The film told a poignant story of loss and reunion.

  2. The sauce had a poignant flavor that lingered on the palate.

  3. She felt a poignant sense of loneliness after he left.

  4. His poignant wit cut through the pretense of the gathering.