piquant

adj.

1. Pleasantly pungent or tart in taste; spicy.
2. 1. Appealingly provocative: a piquant wit.
   2. Charming, interesting, or attractive: a piquant face.
3. Archaic. Causing hurt feelings; stinging.

[French, from Old French, present participle of piquer, to prick. See pique.]

piquancy pi'quan·cy or pi'quant·ness n.
piquantly pi'quant·ly adv.

Is President Bush's new domestic policy advisor, Karl Zinsmeister, piquant (appealingly provocative) or full of contempt? Depends on how you spin it. Recently, reporter Helen Thomas asked White House press secretary Tony Snow:

"Why did the President pick a man who is so contemptible of the public servants in Washington to be his Domestic Advisor -- saying, 'People in Washington are morally repugnant, cheating, shifty human beings'? Why would he pick such a man to be a Domestic Advisor?"

The press secretary corrected the doyenne's vocabulary, then zinged her back:

"You meant contemptuous, as opposed to contemptible, I think... [Zinsmeister] is somebody who expresses himself with a certain amount of piquancy -- you're perhaps familiar with that, aren't you, Helen?"

Link: Press Briefing by Tony Snow

Posted June 6, 2006.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

[pee-KAHN] French for a flavor that can be spicy, tart or pungent.

adjective

Affecting the organs of taste or smell with a strong and often harsh sensation: pungent, sharp, spicy, zesty. Archaic poignant. See smells/good smells/bad smells/smell, taste/bad taste.

adj

Definition: flavorful, biting
Antonyms: bland, dull, insipid

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IN BRIEF: Agreeably pungent; stimulating.

The piquant sauce added flavor to the bland vegetables served at the restaurant.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - skarp, pikant

Nederlands (Dutch)
pikant

Français (French)
adj. - piquant

Deutsch (German)
adj. - pikant

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - πικάντικος

Italiano (Italian)
piccante

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - picante, mordaz

Русский (Russian)
пикантный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - picante

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - pikant

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
开胃的, 泼辣的, 辛辣的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 開胃的, 潑辣的, 辛辣的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - (맛 등이) 입맛을 돋우는, 흥미를 자극하는, 통쾌한

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - きびきびした, 痛快な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) حاد, حريف, مثير, فاتن‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮חריף, חיכני, פיקנטי‬

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piquant amaryllis