as in bitterness
a harsh or sharp quality
there's a mean-spirited poignance to the novel's satiric portrait of Hollywood
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of poignance
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
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
See All Example Sentences for poignance
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
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
See All Example Sentences for poignance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poignance
Noun
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Regarding her own father, former Hollywood lighting director Thomas Markle, there is such entrenched bitterness, and this situation makes any reconciliation far from likely.—
Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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The biggest casualty, says Srivastava, will be the goodwill between India and the United States, built after decades of bitterness over Washington's support of India's adversaries like Pakistan.—
Omkar Khandekar,
NPR,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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And while winners may be tempted to choose the annuity for an initial lower tax bite and to get more Powerball money, inflation and unforeseeable tax changes over 29 years could eat away at its value.—
George Petras,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
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Get the recipe > This rustic soup from Chiapas, Mexico, features the grassy flavor of fresh chipilín leaves in a rich corn broth, with tender masa dumplings stuffed with creamy queso fresco for a satisfying bite.—
SAVEUR Editors,
Saveur,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Adding further poignancy to his death Thursday is the fact that Armani, who held the role of chairman, chief executive officer and creative designer, will not be able to mark his namesake company’s 50th anniversary as planned.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
4 Sep. 2025
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Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Throughout the set, a large video screen behind the musicians presented clips and images of the classic original Who lineup that included the late John Entwistle and Keith Moon, further adding to the show’s sense of nostalgia and poignancy.—
David Chiu,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
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On the southwestern side of the fire, hand crews and dozers began building new containment lines along Sycamore Ridge Road to prevent the westward spread of the fire from the Dinkey Creek drainage and cut the fire off close to its active edge.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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The base stores up to three tools, including a corner cleaner and an edge sweeper.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Poignance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poignance. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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