pungency


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Related to pungency: piquancy, pungent, raciness

pun·gent

 (pŭn′jənt)
adj.
1. Affecting the organs of taste or smell with a sharp acrid sensation.
2.
a. Penetrating, biting, or caustic: pungent satire.
b. To the point; sharp: pungent talks during which the major issues were confronted.
3. Pointed: a pungent leaf.

[Latin pungēns, pungent-, present participle of pungere, to sting; see peuk- in Indo-European roots.]

pun′gen·cy n.
pun′gent·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.pungency - wit having a sharp and caustic quality; "he commented with typical pungency"; "the bite of satire"
humor, wit, witticism, wittiness, humour - a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
2.pungency - a strong odor or taste propertypungency - a strong odor or taste property; "the pungency of mustard"; "the sulfurous bite of garlic"; "the sharpness of strange spices"; "the raciness of the wine"
spicery, spiciness, spice - the property of being seasoned with spice and so highly flavored
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

pungency

[ˈpʌndʒənsɪ] N [of smell, flavour] → acritud f; [of remark] → mordacidad f
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

pungency

n (lit, fig)Schärfe f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

pungency

[ˈpʌndʒnsɪ] n (see adj) → asprezza, acredine f, sapore m piccante, causticità
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
It was a most tedious business, not more than half a dozen shoots of garlic being discoverable in the whole field; yet such was the herb's pungency that probably one bite of it by one cow had been sufficient to season the whole dairy's produce for the day.
The pungency of ammonia bit her nostrils, wafted to her from the soaked sponge wherefrom he breathed the fiery fumes that cleared his brain.
The day was stifling; and this transition from the pitiless, visible heat of the parched fields to the cool gloom, heavy with pungency of cedars and vocal with twittering of the birds that had been driven to its leafy asylum, was exquisitely refreshing.
However this may discredit such persons with the judicious, it helps them with the people, as it gives heat, pungency, and publicity to their words.
Hence the virtue and pungency of the influence on the mind of natural objects, whether inorganic or organized.
One judge added: "There is a pungency to the cheese; a balance of salt and some sweet milky notes which linger".
Peel the onion and immerse in a bowl of iced water for 20-30 minutes to lessen its pungency. Set aside.
She said this girl in fact was not an epilepsy patient, because during pungency such fits are also observed in some cases.
If you are using mustard oil, heat the oil until it is smoking hot - this removes the bitter pungency of the oil - then bring it down to a medium-high heat.
"That's the secret to St Clair wines - power and pungency in sauvignon blanc and a beautiful intensity in our pinot noir."
"At Saint Clair each vineyard has its own individual flavour and individual terroir and the whole ethos of Saint Clair is to capture the land and capture "That's the secret to St Clair wines - power and pungency in sauvignon blanc and a beautiful intensity in our pinot noir."
The panellists were unaware that the cheese samples were identical, and rated the pungency of the blue cheese significantly higher in the cow barn setting than in the sensory booth or the virtual park bench.