Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use pungent in a sentence

35 example sentences · adjective

Pungent means having a strong odor that stings the nose; said especially of acidic or spicy substances. Example: “I accidentally dropped the bottle of ammonia and after few seconds, a very pungent stench could be detected.”

Examples of pungent by meaning

adjectiveHaving 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

adjectiveStinging; acerbic.

  • The critic gave a pungent review.

More sentences with pungent

  • The best rum was distilled from sugarcane juice and was especially strong and pungent to the taste.2018, Selby Parker, Scopophilia, page 142. From the entry make a rabbit bite a bulldog
  • However, hiba has a strong tendency to develop shrinkage cracks and gives off a pungent smell.2017, Christoph Henrichsen, “Authenticity in Japan”, in Katharina Weiler, Niels Gutschow, editors, Authenticity in Architectural Heritage…. From the entry hiba
  • It is alkaline, non salted, sticky and slightly ammoniacal making it slightly pungent.2013 August, Thangjam Anand Singh et al., “Hawaijar – An ethnic vegan fermented soybean food of Manipur, India: A comprehensive review”…. From the entry ammoniacal
  • These cheeses may be described as zesty, horseradishy, or pungent, and they can pack a wallop.2012, Laurel Miller, Thalassa Skinner, Culture Magazine, Creating the Perfect Cheese Plate In a Day For Dummies. From the entry horseradishy
  • She bit into tough, stringy meat that had a pungent, wild taste to it.1997, Alex Matthews, Satan's Silence: The Second Cassidy McCabe Mystery, Intrigue Press, →ISBN, page 135. From the entry Spockian
  • It evolved from diet food, milk substitute, and the base for pungent sauces into an appealing dessert.1997, Gregory K. Ericksen, “Gary Hirshberg: Stonyfield Farm: ‘A Business Plan for the Future: Hope’”, in What’s Luck Got to Do with It?…. From the entry yogurt maker
  • The burning, pungent scent of newly threshed wheat and a chaffy dust enveloped the village.1940, Mikhail Sholokhov, chapter 6, in Stephen Garry, transl., The Don Flows Home to the Sea, section 1, pages 44-45. From the entry chaffy
  • I’ve even brought nattō, the slimy, pungent fermented soybeans beloved in Japan, but which few non-Japanese can tolerate.2022, Katherine Tamiko Arguile, “Seimei: Pure and clear”, in Meshi: A Personal History of Japanese Food, Melbourne, Vic.: Affirm Press…. From the entry nattō
  • Anderson was accused last month of passing gas so pungent it threw his opponent off, an incident soon dubbed Fartgate.2018 December 28, Benjamin Mueller, “Showmanship, and Conflict, as Darts Goes From Smoky Pubs to TV Spectacle”, in The New York Times…. From the entry Fartgate
  • Ieva Reklaityke’s work in Kalamazoo on sewers unclogged my mind, Martha Bayless’s latrinal insights were pleasantly pungent, and Kevin J.2015, Susan Signe Morrison, The Literature of Waste, acknowledgements. From the entry latrinal
  • The tagliatelli with pheasant ragout, rich and pungent, or grilled salmon with black-eyed peas can round out your night.2009 January 16, Adam Nagourney, “Plenty of Options for Washington’s Hungry Visitors”, in New York Times. From the entry tagliatelli
  • As soon as I saw the wrapper of a delightfully pungent, runny-centered bucheron, I knew my dinner was done.2009 January 21, Melissa Clark, “Roasted Beets, Now Stainless”, in New York Times. From the entry bucheron
  • One smell in particular sliced through the blend of pungent ammonia and decay: the biting musk of a particular three-headed heckhound.2008, Dale E. Basye, chapter 13, in Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go. From the entry heckhound
  • But true caseophiles adore a washed rind, and the French, of course, are masters at producing these pungent beauties.2008, Steve Ehlers, Jeanette Hurt, “Part 2: Old World Favorites”, “Chapter 5: French Cheeses”, in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Cheeses of…. From the entry caseophile
  • It also lacks the pungent aroma of sagebrush, instead imparting only a subtle currylike smell to the air.2007, Richard Cannings, The Rockies: A Natural History. From the entry currylike
  • Breslin and several collaborators confirmed that the pungent substance in olive oil is a phenolic chemical, which they named oleocanthal.2007 June 6, Harold Mcgee, “Extra Virgin Anti-Inflammatories”, in New York Times. From the entry oleocanthal
  • Sasha mixed a little smetana with acacia honey and spooned it on to borodinsky bread, pungent with rye.1995, Mark Jones, chapter 6, in Black Lightning, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 74. From the entry borodinsky bread
  • It was not a fish setting—only bare rock, no trees, pungent sagebrush, and marl dust floating when a truck passed.1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 231. From the entry marl
  • A common beverage credited with aphrodisiac virtue was old wine containing the pungent root of the plant pyrethrum or pellitory.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 250. From the entry pyrethrum
  • A common tool known as a sploof—a cardboard tube stuffed with dryer sheets—traps the pungent smoke when a user exhales into it.2014 December 5, I.M. Stoned, Dope: The 200 Most Awesome Things About Weed, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN. From the entry sploof
  • They learned about affinage, the art of aging cheese to pungent perfection, and toured underground cheese caves at Murray’s Cheese in Greenwich Village.2007 October 7, Ray Rivera, “Tours Venture Into Forbidden, or Merely Hidden, Territory”, in New York Times. From the entry affinage
  • To be sure the flavor hasn't weakened, give them the "sniff test" (check for a pungent aroma) and look for vibrant color.1996 December, “The Best Cookies in Town: The Well-stocked Cookie Cupboard: For Foolproof Cookies, Select the Right Ingredients and Use…. From the entry sniff test
  • Other days we simply bought salt cod fritters at a vendor's shack and washed them down with maubey, the pungent island drink.1992, Islands Magazine (volume 12, number 4, page 146). From the entry maubey
  • Those ancient cultures have developed many subtly varying strains of food plants; leavy greens that cook quickly, spicy roots, pungent herbs, multipurpose cabbages.1983, Nancy Bubel, The Country Journal Book of Vegetable Gardening, Brattleboro, Vt.: Country Journal Publishing Company, Inc., →ISBN…. From the entry leavy greens
  • There was a door, and a window on one side of it, and a chimney from which a small spiral of pungent peatsmoke ascended.1969, Eona K. Macnicol, The Hallowe'en Hero: And Other Stories, page 54. From the entry peatsmoke
  • Its aroma has been likened to many odors and perhaps it most closely resembles a pungent combination of cinnamon bark vanilla, and tarragon.1958 May 1, Craig Claiborne, “Popularity Increasing; Easy to Make at Home”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times…. From the entry sweet smelling
  • Across this scene wafted the pungent fragrance of chop suey, dim sims and other delicacies in course of preparation for the funeral feast.1926 December 16, The Telegraph, Brisbane, page 20, column 7. From the entry chop suey
  • The second G in the Asian trinity, GGS (ginger, garlic, scallion), it can be subtle or bold, sweet or pungent, depending on how you use it.2017 September 12, Joanne Chang, Karen Akunowicz, Myers+chang At Home: Recipes from the Beloved Boston Eatery, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 40. From the entry ggs
  • Here in Maotai, where the pungent odor of fermenting sorghum is overpowering and almost everyone works for the distillery, spiking prices have become a point of pride.2011 February 13, Andrew Jacobs, “Fake Liquors Flow as Demand Soars for China’s Fabled Sorghum Spirit”, in The New York Times, →ISSN…. From the entry Maotai
  • Maximiliana—Miliana to her friends, Max to her lovers, Mom to her kids—set down the yellow bucket containing a pungent and vaporous mixture of powders and fluids.1988, Susan Trott, chapter 1, in Pursued by the Crooked Man: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row, →ISBN, page 4. From the entry Maximiliana
  • Cocteau's famous essay on Indirect Criticism is retranslated; there are a pretty baby story by Gertrude Stein and gangsterical stories in the pungent style practised by our American cousins.1971, Ireland To-day, Kraus Reprint Company, page 89. From the entry gangsterical
  • The room contained an odd assortment of odors, of which the most emphatic at the moment seemed to be the pungent aftermath of cordite and the sickish aroma of ether.1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, →ISBN, page 35. From the entry cordite

Meaning of pungent

  1. adjective Having a strong odor that stings the nose; said especially of acidic or spicy substances.
  2. adjective Having a strong taste that stings the tongue; said especially of hot (spicy) food, which has a strong and sharp or bitter taste.
  3. adjective Stinging; acerbic.

Full definition of pungent

Questions about pungent in a sentence

How do you use pungent in a sentence?
Pungent is used as an adjective. For example: “I accidentally dropped the bottle of ammonia and after few seconds, a very pungent stench could be detected.”
What is a short sentence with pungent?
“The critic gave a pungent review.”
What does pungent mean?
Pungent means having a strong odor that stings the nose; said especially of acidic or spicy substances.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: pungent (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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