poignance
noun
poi·gnance
ˈpȯi-nyən(t)s 
sometimes ˈpȯi(g)-nən(t)s
Synonyms
Examples of poignance in a Sentence
there's a mean-spirited poignance to the novel's satiric portrait of Hollywood
Recent Examples on the Web
This reader, with at least 50 years more in corporeal form than Ching, could not help but rapidly identify with her wisdom and experience the poignance of her story.
—
BostonGlobe.com, 9 June 2023
The wild-eyed goofy younger Springsteen cracks through, but never lightly, always with poignance.
—Christopher Borrelli, Baltimore Sun, 7 Apr. 2023
In this book, however, her collages produce not surprise or poignance but a sense of cutting and pasting, of breathless summary.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2023
In honor of the occasion, Porchlight snagged the historic Studebaker Theater and filmed the show all around venue, out front and backstage, distancing the young performers but also capturing a lot of the poignance of this lonely moment of sad, empty theaters.
—Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, 19 Nov. 2020
If reproductive futurism is fixated on meaning-making, as in, drawing existential poignance out of the illusion of progress and succession, then Edelman’s proposition encourages the rejection of meaning and determinacy itself in the pursuit of ideological liberation.
—Alex Quicho, Wired, 9 Jan. 2022
That means none of the bubble-burst poignance that Bartlett and Natasha Rothwell brought as the servant-victims of getaway decadence.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 24 Oct. 2022
Transcending expectations is its own expectation, and Midnights makes clear, with modest poignance, that Swift has burned out on her own hype.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2022
In the song’s intro, processional drums and a trembling guitar line promised a power ballad with all the poignance of a Steven Spielberg movie.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2022
BostonGlobe.com, 9 June 2023
The wild-eyed goofy younger Springsteen cracks through, but never lightly, always with poignance.
—Christopher Borrelli, Baltimore Sun, 7 Apr. 2023
In this book, however, her collages produce not surprise or poignance but a sense of cutting and pasting, of breathless summary.
—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2023
In honor of the occasion, Porchlight snagged the historic Studebaker Theater and filmed the show all around venue, out front and backstage, distancing the young performers but also capturing a lot of the poignance of this lonely moment of sad, empty theaters.
—Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, 19 Nov. 2020
If reproductive futurism is fixated on meaning-making, as in, drawing existential poignance out of the illusion of progress and succession, then Edelman’s proposition encourages the rejection of meaning and determinacy itself in the pursuit of ideological liberation.
—Alex Quicho, Wired, 9 Jan. 2022
That means none of the bubble-burst poignance that Bartlett and Natasha Rothwell brought as the servant-victims of getaway decadence.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 24 Oct. 2022
Transcending expectations is its own expectation, and Midnights makes clear, with modest poignance, that Swift has burned out on her own hype.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2022
In the song’s intro, processional drums and a trembling guitar line promised a power ballad with all the poignance of a Steven Spielberg movie.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'poignance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
circa 1683, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near poignance
Cite this Entry
“Poignance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poignance. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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