From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Pungent \Pun"gent\, adjective [L. pungens, -entis, p. pr. of pungere, punctum, to prick. Cf. {Compunction}, {Expunge}, {Poignant}, {Point}, noun, {Puncheon}, {Punctilio}, {Punt}, verb (used with an object)]
1. Causing a sharp sensation, as of the taste, smell, or feelings; pricking; biting; acrid; as, a pungent spice.
Pungent radish biting infant's tongue. --Shenstone.
The pungent grains of titillating dust. --Pope.
2. Sharply painful; penetrating; poignant; severe; caustic; stinging.
With pungent pains on every side. --Swift.
His pungent pen played its part in rousing the nation. --J. R. Green.
3. (Bot.) Prickly-pointed; hard and sharp.
Syn: Acrid; piercing; sharp; penetrating; acute; keen; acrimonious; biting; stinging.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
adjective
1: sharp biting or acrid especially in taste or smell; "tasting the pungent wood sorrel"; "pungent curry"; "a pungent smell of burning sulfur" [ant: {bland}]
2: capable of wounding; "a barbed compliment"; "a biting aphorism"; "pungent satire" [syn: {barbed}, {biting}, {nipping}, {mordacious}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
153 Moby Thesaurus words for "pungent": Attic, acerb, acerbate, acerbic, acescent, acid, acrid, acrimonious, acute, afflictive, agonizing, amaroidal, aphoristic, aromatic, asperous, astringent, atrocious, axiomatic, barbed, biting, bitter, bitter as gall, brilliant, caustic, clever, coarse, consuming, crab, crabbed, cramping, crisp, cruel, cutting, deafening, distressing, droll, dry, epigrammatic, escharotic, exciting, excruciating, facetious, flavorful, formulaic, formulistic, funny, gnawing, gnomic, grave, green, griping, hard, harrowing, harsh, hot, humorous, humorsome, hurtful, hurting, incisive, intense, irritating, jesting, jocose, jocular, joking, joky, joshing, keen, keen-witted, lively, loud, mordant, nimble-witted, nose-piercing, nose-tickling, oppressive, painful, paroxysmal, penetrating, peppery, peppy, pickled, piercing, piquant, pithy, platitudinous, poignant, pointed, proverbial, provocative, quick-witted, racking, racy, rapier-like, reeking, rich, rough, salt, salty, sapid, sarcastic, scathing, scintillating, seasoned, sec, sententious, severe, sharp, shooting, smart, snappy, sour, sour as vinegar, soured, sourish, sparkling, spasmatic, spasmic, spasmodic, spicy, spirited, sprightly, stabbing, stern, stimulating, stinging, strong, strong-scented, strong-smelling, succinct, suffocating, tangy, tart, tartish, tasty, terse, thundering, tormenting, torturous, trenchant, uninteresting, unripe, unsweet, unsweetened, upsetting, vinegarish, vinegary, vitriolic, vivacious, whimsical, witty, zesty
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