as in bitterness
a harsh or sharp quality
there was a poignancy to his wit that often left his targets smarting
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Recent Examples of poignancy
Digital copies of about half his earlier works survived and the California African American Museum recognized the poignancy of pairing them.
—
Kara Finnstrom, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026
However things turn out next month, Bowe’s 38th birthday will coincide with another passage in her life, one dripping with anticipation and, perhaps, a dose of poignancy.
—Steve Buckley, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
The land there glows with poignancy about this time, when the old year is not quite dead and the new one not quite ready.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2026
Still, there’s a bittersweet poignancy to the 100th Oscars also being the last traditional broadcast, a swan song for the long-ago time when the ceremony occupied the very center of popular culture.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for poignancy
Kara Finnstrom, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026
However things turn out next month, Bowe’s 38th birthday will coincide with another passage in her life, one dripping with anticipation and, perhaps, a dose of poignancy.
—Steve Buckley, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
The land there glows with poignancy about this time, when the old year is not quite dead and the new one not quite ready.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2026
Still, there’s a bittersweet poignancy to the 100th Oscars also being the last traditional broadcast, a swan song for the long-ago time when the ceremony occupied the very center of popular culture.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for poignancy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poignancy
Noun
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Anger over the bloodshed now adds to the bitterness over the economy, which has been hollowed out by decades of sanctions, corruption and mismanagement.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Feb. 2026
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The bright fragrant baking spice from Angostura Bitters is replaced with the deep earth of the Cynar whose bitterness brings a constant low hum, like engine noise on an airplane.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Stir together the remoulade as the crab cakes cook, so as little time as possible stands between you and your first bite.—
Karla Walsh,
Southern Living,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Infected cats can carry the fungus in their claws or skin lesions, and scratches or bites can transmit the infection to humans.—
Leslie Baumann,
Miami Herald,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Arm's chip designs power most of the world's smartphones and are increasingly used in AI data centers and edge computing devices.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
5 Feb. 2026
-
On Thursday afternoon, OpenAI released a new cutting-edge coding model that the company said assisted in its own creation.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
There’s a particular poignance to Manousos giving this speech — an honest-to-goodness monologue by his standards — at the Darién Gap, amid the detritus of migrants who have shed their belongings to take this path from South to Central America.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
12 Dec. 2025
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By contrast, Borghi limns a figure of comingled sensuality, threat and eventual poignance, without ever appearing to reach for effect.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Poignancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poignancy. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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