pungency

UK/ˈpʌnd͡ʒənsi/US/ˈpʌnd͡ʒənsi/

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #15,158 of 15,258Too rare in one of the two pools to compare — fewer than 20 uses in speech or in writing

Pungency is sharpness of smell, taste or wit. The pungency of the cheese.

It is a compliment about wit and a warning about a smell. Pungency in cooking comes from chemicals plants make to stop being eaten.

Definitions of pungency

1nounpungencySharpness of smell, taste or wit.C1
“The pungency of the sauce cleared the whole table's sinuses.”

pungency is a quality.

Where it comes from

Latin
pungens
English
pungent
English, today
pungency

Built from

pungo · Latin — to sting

From pungent + -cy. pungent Borrowed from Latin pungens (stem pungent-), present participle of pungo (“to sting”). a doublet of poignant.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

pungency in the wild

Such specific flavors generally add sweetness or pungency, or sharp or piquant flavors.
Condiment
Along with its isomer chavicine, piperine from black pepper and long pepper has pungency effects via activation of TRPV1.
Piperine
Santa Fe Grande's fruit have a slightly sweet taste and are fairly mild in pungency.
Santa Fe Grande
The rhizomes are very similar to common ginger but lack its pungency, and instead have a raw mango flavour.
Curcuma amada
Cut red onion can be soaked in cool water for a period of time, and the water can be drained off, resulting in less "bite" and pungency.
Red onion

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the pungo family

point

pungency — used about once every 159,543 pages · #15,158 · point at the bar for the others

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