pungent
/ˈpʌnd͡ʒənt/
pungent adjective: having a strong odor that stings the nose; said especially of acidic or spicy substances.
Adjective
pungent (comparative more pungent, superlative most pungent)
- Having a strong odor that stings the nose; said especially of acidic or spicy substances.
- I accidentally dropped the bottle of ammonia and after few seconds, a very pungent stench could be detected.
- Pilton Yard, the Lynton & Barnstaple headquarters, has been taken over by a fur trading firm, and would-be trespassers to the old engine-shed are turned back by the pungent odour of heaps of carcases.1951 February, “Notes and News: Lynton & Barnstaple Remains”, in Railway Magazine, page 136
- Having a strong taste that stings the tongue; said especially of hot (spicy) food, which has a strong and sharp or bitter taste.
- Stinging; acerbic.
- The critic gave a pungent review.
- Having a sharp and stiff point.
pungent meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
pungent in Hindi
- pungent, strong
- तीखा tīkhā, चोखा cokhā
- pungent
- कसैला kasailā, चरपरा carparā
- pungent, sharp tasting
- तीता tītā
pungent in Tamil
- எரிச்சலூட்டும், கடுமையான, காரமான, கூர்மையான, மூக்கைத் துளைக்கும் நெடி, நெடிளேள
pungent in Urdu
- pungent, strong
- تیکھا tīkhā
- pungent
- چرپرا carparā
pungent in Bengali
- তীব্র স্বাদ, কটু গন্ধযুক্ত, কড়া
More languagesFewer languages
- pungent in Telugu
- కారము kāramu, ఒర్ర orra
- pungent in Malayalam
- എരിവ് erivŭ
- pungent in Kannada
- ಖಾರವಾದ, ಘಾಟಾದ, ತೀಕ್ಷ್ಣ, ಜಾಣತನದ
- pungent in Punjabi
- ਤਿੱਖਾ tikkhā
- pungent in Gujarati
- તીખું tīkhũ
- pungent in Odia
- ତୀକ୍ଷ୍ଣ tikṣṇa
- pungent in Sanskrit
- तिग्म tigma
- pungent in Sinhala
- කටු kaṭu
- pungent in Assamese
- কেঁহা kẽha
- pungent in Thai
- ฉุน chǔn
- pungent in Vietnamese
- hăng, gắt
Examples of pungent in a sentence
- The best rum was distilled from sugarcane juice and was especially strong and pungent to the taste.
- However, hiba has a strong tendency to develop shrinkage cracks and gives off a pungent smell.
- It is alkaline, non salted, sticky and slightly ammoniacal making it slightly pungent.
Synonyms of pungent
Forms of pungent
| comparative | more pungent |
|---|---|
| superlative | most pungent |
Origin of pungent
Borrowed from Latin pungens (stem pungent-), present participle of pungo (“to sting”). Doublet of poignant.
Words formed from pungent
Questions about pungent
- What does pungent mean?
- Pungent means having a strong odor that stings the nose; said especially of acidic or spicy substances.
- What is pungent in Hindi?
- Pungent in Hindi is तीखा (tīkhā), चोखा (cokhā), कसैला (kasailā). See Pungent meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is pungent?
- Pungent is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce pungent?
- Pungent is pronounced /ˈpʌnd͡ʒənt/.
Words near pungent in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: pungent (page history and authors); कसैला (Hindi) (page history and authors); pungent (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); تیکھا (Urdu) (page history and authors); pungent (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ఒర్ర (Telugu) (page history and authors); pungent (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਤਿੱਖਾ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); તીખું (Gujarati) (page history and authors); ତୀକ୍ଷ୍ଣ (Odia) (page history and authors); කටු (Sinhala) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-pungent.ogg.
Cite this entry: “pungent.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pungent. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.