punchy

adjective

ˈpən-chē 

punchier; punchiest

1

a

: having punch : forceful, spirited

The collection is strong on punchy, memorable music and weak on lyrics.

—People Weekly

He leans abruptly forward and speaks with the punchy emphasis of an inveterate politician.

—Bill Bryson

b

: vivid, vibrant

These punchy colors glide on and blend easily into mere hints of color.

—Elle

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

2

: dazed, punch-drunk

… I arrived in Paris after a thirteen-hour flight, unwashed, unshaved, punchy from jet lag, discombobulated …

—David Berlinski

Synonyms

• 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

Naver’s lack of a punchy, clear growth strategy is especially worrisome in the AI age, when Naver faces U.S. companies that are investing billions in the technology. —Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024

These are Hollywood level-productions, slick, punchy and incredibly damning. —Sean Woods, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2024

The best are permeated with punchy sauce that numbs the lips and warms the palate. —Jolene Thym, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024

During testing, Edmunds noted its punchy acceleration that made it among the quickest in its class. —Nick Kurczewski, Quartz, 27 Mar. 2024

Colorful, expressive, perfectly balanced, punchy without being pretentious. —Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024

Fewer, punchy statements might do the job just fine. —Jodie Cook, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024

Instead, bright colors abound with punchy prints showcasing each suite's namesake. —Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 19 Mar. 2024

The song came accompanied by a music video directed by Patience Harding that sees Cardi spitting the song’s punchy lines while sporting a series of looks. —Thania Garcia, Variety, 15 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1a