Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Showing results for pungent. Search instead for ungent.
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.

Aside from being a general nuisance with their ferocious snores, pungent odors and growls, bears can do serious damage to a home.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2026

And Joq is genuinely fascinated by the way hickory smoke mellows and rounds out a pungent blue cheese.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

As pungent as our political discourse may often be, calling for a sacking still has an extra severity to it.

From BBC • Oct. 30, 2025

Multiply that by a family's worth of footwear, stack them on a rack, and you have a domestic design problem that's as pungent as it is universal.

From BBC • Sep. 27, 2025

She sighed deeply as a rather pungent smell drifted up from the kitchen.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling