punchier; punchiest
1
c
: zesty
It is an elegant dish, although the sauce seems overly polite now. I remember it when the fresh coriander was an intense and punchy flavor.—
Caroline Bates
Caroline Bates2
: dazed, punch-drunk
… I arrived in Paris after a thirteen-hour flight, unwashed, unshaved, punchy from jet lag, discombobulated …—David Berlinski
David BerlinskiSynonyms
- addle
- addled
- addlepated
- bedeviled
- befogged
- befuddled
- bemused
- bewildered
- bushed [chiefly Australian]
- confounded
- confused
- dazed
- distracted
- dizzy
- dopey
- dopy
- fogged
- mixed-up
- muddleheaded
- muzzy
- pixilated
- pixillated
- punch-drunk
- raddled
- shell-shocked
- silly
- slaphappy
- spaced-out
- spaced
- spacey
- spacy
- stunned
- stupefied
- zonked
- zonked-out
Examples of punchy in a Sentence
shrimp in a punchy sauce
She was punchy with fatigue.
Recent Examples on the Web
The synth lines are bright and punchy but retain adequate nuance to provide a dynamic range.
—PCMAG, 7 Oct. 2024
To achieve these goals without scrimping on style, designers have made significant changes to today’s luxury bathrooms, reinventing their layouts, incorporating technology, and exploring a range of finishes and materials both punchy and pristine.
—Dan Howarth, Architectural Digest, 30 Sep. 2024
Spitfire is lightweight in construction but punchy in terms of performance and range, according to Bannenberg & Rowell.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 13 Sep. 2024
The Italian tuna salad with punchy capers and tart lemon is topped with julienned shiso, red onion, romaine and tomatoes.
—Betty Hallock, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for punchy 
PCMAG, 7 Oct. 2024
To achieve these goals without scrimping on style, designers have made significant changes to today’s luxury bathrooms, reinventing their layouts, incorporating technology, and exploring a range of finishes and materials both punchy and pristine.
—Dan Howarth, Architectural Digest, 30 Sep. 2024
Spitfire is lightweight in construction but punchy in terms of performance and range, according to Bannenberg & Rowell.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 13 Sep. 2024
The Italian tuna salad with punchy capers and tart lemon is topped with julienned shiso, red onion, romaine and tomatoes.
—Betty Hallock, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for punchy
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'punchy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near punchy
Cite this Entry
“Punchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punchy. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
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