punchy

adjective

ˈpən-chē 

punchier; punchiest

1

a

: having punch : forceful, spirited

The collection is strong on punchy, memorable music and weak on lyrics.

—People Weekly

He leans abruptly forward and speaks with the punchy emphasis of an inveterate politician.

—Bill Bryson

b

: vivid, vibrant

These punchy colors glide on and blend easily into mere hints of color.

—Elle

c

: zesty

It is an elegant dish, although the sauce seems overly polite now. I remember it when the fresh coriander was an intense and punchy flavor.

—Caroline Bates

2

: dazed, punch-drunk

… I arrived in Paris after a thirteen-hour flight, unwashed, unshaved, punchy from jet lag, discombobulated …

—David Berlinski

Synonyms

• addle
• addled
• addlepated
• bedeviled
• befogged
• befuddled
• bemused
• bewildered
• bushed [chiefly Australian]
• confounded
• confused
• dazed
• distracted
• dizzy
• dopey
• dopy
• fogged
• mixed-up
• muddleheaded
• muzzy
• pixilated
• pixillated
• punch-drunk
• raddled
• shell-shocked
• silly
• slaphappy
• spaced-out
• spaced
• spacey
• spacy
• stunned
• stupefied
• zonked
• zonked-out

Examples of punchy in a Sentence

shrimp in a punchy sauce

She was punchy with fatigue.

Recent Examples on the Web

An emulsification of oil and egg yolks, this punchy dressing gets its kick from two kinds of cheese: nutty Parmesan and salty, funky Romano. —Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 13 Feb. 2025

Comfortable, with punchy bass and bright highs, these headphones support spatial audio with head tracking to personalize Dolby Atmos audio. —Jade Chung-Lee, PCMAG, 13 Feb. 2025

For some time, his digital team had been advising him to make full use of TikTok, the social platform owned by ByteDance, a Chinese internet company and known for its punchy video snippets. —Malcolm Hillgartner Krish Seenivasan Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 10 Feb. 2025

The tangy sumac and fiery chili create a bold, punchy sip that keeps you coming back for more. —Stephanie Gravalese, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined at sense 1a