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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples of poignance in a Sentence
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Recent Examples on the Web
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.
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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
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The goal is to achieve a juicy look, characterized by an imprecise and slightly smudged application, reminiscent of the resulting lip tint after taking a bite of fruit.Beatrice Zocchi, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2024
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Light bites accompany the tasting, enhancing the experience.Shivani Vora, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Here, an excess of material diminishes the film’s humor and poignancy, though many of the story’s characters are colorful enough, when they aren’t written too artificially.Tomris Laffly, Variety, 18 Oct. 2024
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Payne’s memory of the encounter, of course, takes on new meaning and poignancy in the wake of his sudden and shocking death Wednesday in Argentina.Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 17 Oct. 2024
Noun
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In the entry, a translucent red high-polished resin mirror called Jelly is paired with a cream formica console with a walnut edge that Renz crafted himself.Morgan Goldberg, Architectural Digest, 24 Oct. 2024
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Use a sharp knife to slice off any uneven edges, and cut into 2-inch squares.Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 24 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near poignance
Cite this Entry
“Poignance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poignance. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.
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