Synonyms for pungent
ˈpʌn dʒəntpun·gent

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.0 / 1 vote

1. pungent

   Acid, sour, and bitter agree in being contrasted with sweet, but the two former are sharply distinguished from the latter. Acid or sour is the taste of vinegar or lemon-juice; bitter that of quassia, quinine, or strychnine. Acrid is nearly allied to bitter. Pungent suggests the effect of pepper or snuff on the organs of taste or smell; as, a pungent odor. Caustic indicates the corroding effect of some strong chemical, as nitrate of silver. In a figurative sense, as applied to language or character, these words are very closely allied. We say a sour face, sharp words, bitter complaints, caustic wit, cutting irony, biting sarcasm, a stinging taunt, harsh judgment, a tart reply. Harsh carries the idea of intentional and severe unkindness, bitter of a severity that arises from real or supposed ill treatment. The bitter speech springs from the sore heart. Tart and sharp utterances may not proceed from an intention to wound, but merely from a wit recklessly keen; cutting, stinging, and biting speech indicates more or less of hostile intent, the latter being the more deeply malicious. The caustic utterance is meant to burn, perhaps wholesomely, as in the satire of Juvenal or Cervantes. Compare MOROSE.

   Synonyms:
   acerb, acetous, acid, acidulated, acidulous, acrid, acrimonious, biting, bitter, caustic, cutting, harsh, irate, savage, sharp, sour, stinging, tart, vinegarish, virulent

   Antonyms:
   dulcet, honeyed, luscious, nectared, saccharine, sweet

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. pungent

   Synonyms:
   pricking, piercing, acrid, mordant, biting, stinging, stimulating, keen, trenchant, caustic, piquant, sarcastic

   Antonyms:
   soothing, mellow, luscious, unctuous

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:5.0 / 2 votes

1. pungent, acridadjective

   strong and sharp;"the pungent taste of radishes"

   "the acrid smell of burning rubber"

   Synonyms:
   caustic, mordacious, acrid, vitriolic, acid, barbed, sulphurous, biting, bitter, virulent, blistering, acerbic, sulfurous, acerb, nipping

   Antonyms:
   unsarcastic, tasteless

2. barbed, biting, nipping, pungent, mordaciousadjective

   capable of wounding

   "a barbed compliment"; "a biting aphorism"; "pungent satire"

   Synonyms:
   briary, nipping, prickly, barbed, setose, mordacious, snappy, crisp, burred, nippy, bristly, barbellate, setaceous, briery, thorny, acrid, burry, biting, bitter, spiny, bristled, frosty

   Antonyms:
   unsarcastic, tasteless

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pungentadjective

   Synonyms:
   stinging, stimulating, pricking, sharp, biting, burning, hot, peppery, piercing, penetrating, piquant, acrid, caustic

2. pungentadjective

   Synonyms:
   acute, keen, acrimonious, severe, distressing, poignant

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. pungentadjective

   Synonyms:
   pricking, stinging, poignant, sharp, excruciating, severe

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "pungent":

   spicy

How to pronounce pungent?

How to say pungent in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use pungent in a sentence?

1. Phyllis Omido:

   My son was sick but I was also not feeling good. Our eyes at the factory would be watering and the smell from the factory was pungent. It got me thinking about what they were producing there, after I quit, I noticed that people in the environment had the same issues and decided to get people tested.

2. Robert Southey:

   If you would be pungent, be brief for it is with words as with sunbeams - the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.

3. Louis Aragon:

   Light is meaningful only in relation to darkness, and truth presupposes error. It is these mingled opposites which people our life, which make it pungent, intoxicating. We only exist in terms of this conflict, in the zone where black and white clash.

4. Robert Southey:

   If you would be pungent, be brief; for it is with words as with sunbeams - the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.

5. Megan Huylo:

   This one I make for a lot of my clients who are looking for a cleanse or who want to start juicing just to get healthier, promote clearer skin, but they don’t want to drink something that is really loaded with pungent leafy greens.