as in bitterness
a harsh or sharp quality
there's a mean-spirited poignance to the novel's satiric portrait of Hollywood
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of poignance
If reproductive futurism is fixated on meaning-making, as in, drawing existential poignance out of the illusion of progress and succession, then Edelman’s proposition encourages the rejection of meaning and determinacy itself in the pursuit of ideological liberation.
—
Alex Quicho, Wired, 9 Jan. 2022
That means none of the bubble-burst poignance that Bartlett and Natasha Rothwell brought as the servant-victims of getaway decadence.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 24 Oct. 2022
Transcending expectations is its own expectation, and Midnights makes clear, with modest poignance, that Swift has burned out on her own hype.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2022
In the song’s intro, processional drums and a trembling guitar line promised a power ballad with all the poignance of a Steven Spielberg movie.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2022
See All Example Sentences for poignance
Alex Quicho, Wired, 9 Jan. 2022
That means none of the bubble-burst poignance that Bartlett and Natasha Rothwell brought as the servant-victims of getaway decadence.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 24 Oct. 2022
Transcending expectations is its own expectation, and Midnights makes clear, with modest poignance, that Swift has burned out on her own hype.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2022
In the song’s intro, processional drums and a trembling guitar line promised a power ballad with all the poignance of a Steven Spielberg movie.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2022
See All Example Sentences for poignance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poignance
Noun
-
One bite and your neighbors may never try a frozen version again.—
Mary Shannon Wells,
Southern Living,
20 Feb. 2025
-
The result is a bite so flavor-dense that just a few ounces can amp up an entire dish.—
Jolene Thym,
The Mercury News,
19 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
But this exploration undercuts the poignancy of Girls on Wire, adding a third, more opaque thread, to the film’s two clearer ones.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
The Hollywood Reporter,
17 Feb. 2025
-
Their epic battle of wills comes to verge on black comedy, but the widow’s simultaneous battle with her own mortality gives the novel an unexpected poignancy.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
23 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
There was a pervasive sense of indignation from current and former European officials, who have funneled significant aid to Ukraine and are deeply worried about how a ceasefire deal could impact the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) eastern edge.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
15 Feb. 2025
-
The Pirates got to almost every loose ball and played with an edge that was nowhere to be found for the Huskies.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
15 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Poignance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poignance. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share