pungent
pronunciation
How to pronounce pungent in British English:
UK [ˈpʌndʒənt]
How to pronounce pungent in American English:
US [ˈpʌndʒənt]
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- Adjective:
- sharp biting or acrid especially in taste or smell
- capable of wounding
Word Origin
- pungent (adj.)
- 1590s, "sharp, poignant" (of pain or grief), from Latin pungentem (nominative pungens), present participle of pungere "to prick, pierce, sting," figuratively, "to vex, grieve, trouble, afflict," related to pugnus "fist" (see pugnacious). Meaning "having powerful odor or taste" first recorded 1660s. Literal sense "sharp, pointed" (c. 1600) is very rare in English, mostly limited to botany. Middle English and early Modern English also had a now-obsolete verb punge "to prick, pierce; to smart, cause to sting," from Latin pungere. Related: Pungently.
Example
- 1. Years ago , it was the site of such pungent industries as tanning and tallow .
- 2. Instead of recoiling at the smell of something foreign and pungent , get to know it better .
- 3. I breathed in the maritime air - a pungent mix of gasoline and ripe river smells - and checked my watch .
- 4. Luyuan 's new apartment was across the highway from room 817 , down a dark , pungent alley in the red-light district .
- 5. The tree carries fruit throughout the year and the fruit tend to have a very pungent odour when ripening ( also known as the cheese fruit or vomit fruit ) .