Definition of piquant
1 : engagingly provocative; also : having a lively arch charm
2 : agreeably stimulating to the taste; especially : spicy
piquantly
adverbpiquantness
nounIndulge Your Inner Word Nerd
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Examples of piquant in a Sentence
piquant vegetables seasoned with pepper
He served the fish with a piquant sauce.
a piquant bit of gossip
Recent Examples of piquant from the Web
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Created by the piquant geniuses at the Tabasco Flavor Lab, Scorpion Sauce is a powerful blend of scorpion peppers combined with hints of guava, pineapple, and the original Tabasco sauce.
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Its piquant jolt balances out the massive dose of savory from those thick slabs of pastrami.
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My favorite, El Diablo, is piquant with ingredients like spicy mayonnaise and sriracha salt.
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Strong Water’s version comes with a sugary sweet jalapeno-pineapple jam and a more smoky and piquant chipotle mustard to dunk potato in.
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Each component does its job: the richness of cheese and crema against the crunch of the chips, the piquant salsa giving you a break from that fat.
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The good-looking writer will always be welcome on television and popular at parties; her story will seem more piquant, her emotional depths deeper.
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The marinated and chargrilled chicken cubes were served with rice, two piquant salads (one with red cabbage and the other with cucumbers and carrots) and strips of pita bread.
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And she was shadowed by precise, piquant backing vocalists, who sometimes echoed their leader, and sometimes engaged her in a vocal boxing match.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'piquant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Piquant flavors "sting" the tongue and piquant words "prick" the intellect, arousing interest. These varying senses reflect the etymology of the word piquant, which first appeared in English in the 17th century and which derives from the Middle French verb piquer, meaning "to sting" or "to prick." Though first used to describe foods with spicy flavors, the word is now often used to describe things that are spicy in other ways, such as engaging conversation. Have we piqued your curiosity about another piquer offspring? If you’ve already guessed that the verb pique, meaning "to offend" or "to arouse by provocation," comes from piquer, too, you’ve got a sharp mind.
Origin and Etymology of piquant
Middle French, from present participle of piquer
Synonym Discussion of piquant
PIQUANT Defined for English Language Learners
piquant
playDefinition of piquant for English Language Learners
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: having a pleasant, spicy taste
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: interesting and exciting
Learn More about piquant
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See words that rhyme with piquant Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for piquant Spanish Central: Translation of piquant Nglish: Translation of piquant for Spanish speakers
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