Pungent - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

pun·gent

Audio Help [puhn-juh

nt] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	sharply affecting the organs of taste or smell, as if by a penetrating power; biting; acrid.

2.	acutely distressing to the feelings or mind; poignant.

3.	caustic, biting, or sharply expressive: pungent remarks.

4.	mentally stimulating or appealing: pungent wit.

5.	Biology. piercing or sharp-pointed.

[Origin: 1590–1600; < L pungent- (s. of pungéns), prp. of pungere to prick. See poignant, point, -ent

]

—Related forms

pun·gen·cy, noun

pun·gent·ly, adverb

—Synonyms 1. hot, peppery, piquant, sharp. 3. sarcastic, mordant, cutting; acrimonious, bitter. 4. keen, sharp.

—Antonyms 1. mild, bland. 3. soothing. 4. dull.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Pungent

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

pun·gent Audio Help (pŭn'jənt) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Affecting the organs of taste or smell with a sharp acrid sensation.
1. Penetrating, biting, or caustic: pungent satire.
2. To the point; sharp: pungent talks during which the major issues were confronted.
Pointed: a pungent leaf.

[Latin pungēns, pungent-, present participle of pungere, to sting; see peuk- in Indo-European roots.]

pun'gen·cy n., pun'gent·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pungent

1597, "sharp, poignant" (of pain or grief), from L. pungentem (nom. pungens), prp. of pungere "to prick, pierce, sting," related to pugnus "fist" (see pugnacious). Meaning "having powerful odor or taste" first recorded 1668. Lit. sense "sharp, pointed" (1601) is very rare in Eng., mostly limited to botany.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

pungent
adjective
1.	strong and sharp;"the pungent taste of radishes"; "the acrid smell of burning rubber"
2.	capable of wounding; "a barbed compliment"; "a biting aphorism"; "pungent satire" [syn: barbed]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pungent [ˈpandʒənt] adjective

(of a taste or smell) sharp and strong

Arabic:	حِرّيف، لاذِع
Chinese (Simplified):	刺激性的（气味）
Chinese (Traditional):	刺激性的(氣味)
Czech:	ostrý, řízný, čpavý
Danish:	skarp
Dutch:	scherp
Estonian:	terav, kirbe
Finnish:	pistävä
French:	piquant
German:	scharf
Greek:	αψύς, δυνατός
Hungarian:	csípős
Icelandic:	sterkur, skarpur
Indonesian:	menyengat
Italian:	pungente, acre

Japanese:	ぴりっとする
Korean:	강하게 자극하는, 자극성의
Latvian:	kodīgs; ass; pikants
Lithuanian:	aštrus, stiprus
Norwegian:	stikkende, sviende
Polish:	ostry, cierpki
Portuguese (Brazil):	picante, penetrante
Portuguese (Portugal):	acre
Romanian:	picant
Russian:	острый
Slovak:	ostrý
Slovenian:	oster
Spanish:	acre; penetrante; picante; mordaz
Swedish:	skarp, besk, frän
Turkish:	keskin, keskin kokulu

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Pungent

Com*punc"tion\, n. [OF. compunction, F. componction, L. compunctio, fr. compungere, compunctum, to prick; com- + pungere to prick, sting. See Pungent.]

1. A pricking; stimulation. [Obs.]

That acid and piercing spirit which, with such activity and compunction, invadeth the brains and nostrils. --Sir T. Browne.

2. A picking of heart; poignant grief proceeding from a sense of guilt or consciousness of causing pain; the sting of conscience.

He acknowledged his disloyalty to the king, with expressions of great compunction. --Clarendon.

Syn: Compunction, Remorse, Contrition.

Usage: Remorse is anguish of soul under a sense of guilt or consciousness of having offended God or brought evil upon one's self or others. Compunction is the pain occasioned by a wounded and awakened conscience. Neither of them implies true contrition, which denotes self-condemnation, humiliation, and repentance. We speak of the gnawings of remorse; of compunction for a specific act of transgression; of deep contrition in view of our past lives. See Regret.

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