adj.
- Affecting the organs of taste or smell with a sharp acrid sensation.
- Penetrating, biting, or caustic: pungent satire.
- 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.]
pungency pun'gen·cy n.pungently pun'gent·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
