Did you know?
Things described as "pungent"—be they on the plate or on the page—have a bite to them, just as the word's Latin forbear suggests: the verb pungere means "to prick or sting." Some early uses of pungent described things that literally pricked, and the word is still used this way in the biological sciences for such purposes as identifying fish with pungent dorsal fins or plants (such as holly) with pungent leaves. But most often we reserve pungent for flavors and scents that don’t actually pierce or poke us, even if they result in similar sensations—which many people enjoy! The word is also frequently applied to verbal prickings, in which sharp and incisive language brings a biting quality to satires, critiques, and the like. Not to put too fine a point on it, but we think pungent really cuts the mustard as an evocative word choice.
Examples of pungent in a Sentence
Jennifer Senior, New York Times Book Review, 24 Sept. 2006
I remember the enormous size of that fire and the pungent smell of smoke from the burning chaparral as the flames raced up the slope toward our house.
—Tim White, Curious Minds, 2004
Maybe what seems pungent to the locals only becomes alarming when sniffed through a giant Western proboscis, but there are some odors in China that make a visit to Bhopal seem like a picnic downwind from the Arpege factory.
—P. J. O'Rourke, Holidays in Hell, 1988
a play with pungent dialogue
a pungent satire of current politics
Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024
The grains, vegetables and tofu add texture, heft and protein, but the real star is the pungent sauce, a mix of chile crisp, garlic and soy sauce sweetened with ketchup.
—Melissa Clark, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Jan. 2024
Its pungent scent has become common in many communities, wafting from car windows at intersections in California and hanging over the crowds in Times Square.
—Noah Weiland, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2024
This un-aged beauty—bottled at 57.5 percent ABV—is a wild, pungent, overripe tropical fruit-and-vegetable mélange that’s the quintessential example of the (quite small) category.
—Tony Sachs, Robb Report, 29 Mar. 2024
San Francisco’s Hippie Hill will not host the annual pungent, hazy and packed cannabis 420 festival whose roots trace back to the Summer of Love, event organizers announced Monday.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Curiosities Bread and cheese are among the best culinary pairings, but perhaps not when the bread in question is 8,600 years old and the cheese is known for its pungent aroma.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 10 Mar. 2024
The latest object of my gustatory affection: a savory scone studded with country ham, pungent cheese and scallions, and topped with sesame seeds and flaky sea salt.
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—Olga Massov, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024
The pungent black smoke from his exhaust pipe gave him headaches.
—Lenny Rashid Ruvaga, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pungent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Pungent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pungent. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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pungent
adjective
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