How to Use piquant in a Sentence

piquant

adjective
  • He served the fish with a piquant sauce.
  • In the heat gun, spicy mescal and a piquant salt rim are soothed by aloe.
    Esther Mobley, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 Jan. 2018
  • The cheese itself can be a bit piquant, with notes of hay.
    Soleil Ho, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 Nov. 2021
  • This time, the jalapeños are pickled, and their piquant jab rounds out the sweet juiciness of the fruit.
    Cesar Hernandez, San Francisco Chronicle, 31 May 2022
  • This adds a piquant note to Smith's account of his life.
    Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8 Dec. 2017
  • But the show, at its core, is a mystery—a piquant riddle for Mark and the viewers to solve.
    The New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2022
  • The air was piquant and subtly sweet, like orange peel and cloves.
    New York Times, 2 Dec. 2020
  • With each bite, the flavors ping-pong between spicy, sweet and piquant.
    Danielle Dorsey, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2024
  • In fewer than 48 hours, the cloudy beverage tastes piquant and bright and is ready to drink.
    Kiki Flynn, Bon Appetit, 19 Apr. 2017
  • In fewer than 48 hours, the cloudy beverage tastes piquant and bright and is ready to drink.
    Kiki Flynn, Bon Appetit, 19 Apr. 2017
  • Juicy, meaty, piquant tomatoes are proof that God loves us.
    Joseph Hernandez, chicagotribune.com, 9 May 2017
  • May rose and piquant jasmine grown in the southern French commune of Grasse.
    New York Times, 17 Feb. 2022
  • Globs of tartar sauce that taste like the stuff of your youth — creamy, classic and piquant — ooze out of every crevice.
    Jenn Harris Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2021
  • Ford’s new fragrance leads with piquant notes, built on briny notes culled from the ocean and then mixed with spicy pepper.
    Max Berlinger, GQ, 31 Oct. 2017
  • Salty, deep-fried ham-and-cheese croquetas with a piquant sriracha aioli — bam!
    Rand Richards Cooper, courant.com, 15 Nov. 2019
  • But there’s maybe no choice quite as piquant as that made in the final moments of Robert Altman’s 1975 sprawler.
    Alison Willmore, Vulture, 22 Feb. 2021
  • For example, the Goan Masala needs only coconut milk and broth to form a soup both piquant and creamy.
    Aleksandra Crapanzano, WSJ, 27 Feb. 2021
  • The shrimp had a nice snap to it and served as an excellent vessel for the piquant, faintly sweet cocktail sauce.
    The Indianapolis Star, 19 Jan. 2024
  • Each component does its job: the richness of cheese and crema against the crunch of the chips, the piquant salsa giving you a break from that fat.
    Joe Gray, chicagotribune.com, 9 June 2017
  • With those and the three types of fennel in the mix — bulb, fronds and seeds — the bake ends up with a satisfyingly deep, piquant flavor.
    Washington Post, 16 Jan. 2022
  • The piquant apples and chile bits can be eaten alongside the meat while the brine gets drizzled on top for an even sharper jolt.
    Melissa Clark, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Dec. 2022
  • There’s no marinating, and the piquant sauce with comes together while the chicken is on the grill.
    Bonnie S. Benwick, The Denver Post, 24 June 2019
  • Van Haaften smuggles in piquant details about their lives.
    Dwight Garner, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2018
  • Holly was written as a slim girl, just shy of 19, piquant, breezy, and mercenary in her pursuit of a good time.
    Callahan Tormey, Town & Country, 28 Dec. 2020
  • Like the pure bliss of buttery ahi tuna sharing the plate with piquant Fresno peppers.
    Leslie Kelly, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2021
  • The junipers' oily aroma overwhelmed even our own piquant reek.
    John Phillips, Car and Driver, 24 Mar. 2020
  • It was combined with beans and sausage in a piquant tomato sauce — a hearty complement to the pasta’s pleasant bite.
    Jennifer Graue, The Mercury News, 17 Jan. 2017
  • On a spicier note, diners will also find bun bo Hue, a piquant, meaty soup that hails from the coast of central Vietnam.
    James Patrick Kelly, idahostatesman, 8 Feb. 2018
  • Add a touch of earthy, fruity perfume in the form of maraschino liqueur and some piquant spice and depth from absinthe to a standard Old Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail?
    Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 20 Apr. 2024
  • Advertisement Add some spice to that sweating glass of ice tea and drink deeply of these piquant novels.
    Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'piquant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: