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Showing results for pungent. Search instead for pungens.
Definitions

pungent

[puhn-juhnt] / ˈpʌn dʒənt /
ADJECTIVE
highly flavored
Synonyms
STRONGEST
acid acrid aromatic bitter peppery piquant poignant salty sharp sour spicy stinging tangy zesty
WEAK
effluvious hot nosey odoriferous racy rich seasoned snappy stinking strong tart whiffy
Antonyms
STRONGEST
blah bland blunt calm cheerful dull good happy kind mild nice pleasant sweet tasteless
WEAK
flavorless
ADJECTIVE
sharp, stinging in speech
Synonyms
STRONGEST
barbed biting bitter caustic incisive peppery piercing poignant salty scathing spicy telling trenchant zesty
WEAK
acrimonious acute cutting exciting hot keen mordant penetrating pointed provocative racy salt sarcastic snappy stimulating stringent
Antonyms
STRONGEST
blah bland calm dull gentle kind mild nice pleasant soothing sweet weak
WEAK
flavorless tasteless

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The workers fled, leaving behind uneaten bowls of noodles, half-drunk cans of coke and a pungent smell.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026

"When the shop worker took the bag inside, they noticed that this particular donation had a distinctive pungent aroma," a police spokesperson told the New Zealand Herald.

From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026

Mallory Dodge, a stay-at-home mom in Georgia, was flooded with pungent memories of Axe when considering which starter cologne to buy her teenage son last year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

Sit with that pungent taste marinating on your tongue and savor every flavor profile, both the pleasant and unpleasant.

From Salon • Jan. 25, 2026

I hugged him tight, his fur smelling like a mix of dogs and vet chemicals, pungent and sterile.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas