piquant
/ˈpiːk(ə)nt
/ /ˈpiːkɒnt/adjective
1Having a pleasantly sharp taste or appetizing flavour: a piquant tartare sauce...
- Herbs and spices add a piquant taste that ketchup can't match.
- This cheese usually has tangy, piquant, spicy and peppery flavor.
- I've had this several times before and it has always been superb, a tasty combination of sweet and piquant flavours.
Synonyms
spicy, tangy, spiced, peppery, hot;
tasty, flavoursome, flavourful, appetizing, highly seasoned, savoury, pungent, sharp, tart, zesty, strong, salty
rare sapid, flavorous
1.1Pleasantly stimulating or exciting to the mind.Milton Hatoum transports us to a magical boomtown, full of shimmering light, tropical colour and piquant incident....
- It consists of large, wall-painted versions of his witty or piquant statements, realised in a variety of typefaces and colours.
- It may be of piquant interest that The Fourth Wall uses the conceit of a parallel between the heroine and Shaw's Saint Joan, a device currently put to infinitely better use in Lanford Wilson's Book of Days.
Synonyms
intriguing, stimulating, interesting, fascinating, colourful, exciting, arresting, lively, sparkling, spirited, witty, spicy, provocative, racy, salty
informal juicy
Derivatives
piquantly
/ /ˈpiːkəntli / adverb ...- In this well-written, lively, evocative memoir, she has produced a work that is as piquantly entertaining as her rasam recipe.
- Sillito and the Academy give the agile and melting Petri excellent support, and while the engineering is warm, it allows the piquantly penetrating characters of the recorders to come through.
- What piquantly captured the imagination of each, from competitor to consumer-to straw boss to newly outsourced consultant, was how all-inclusive the bench warrant was.
Origin
Early 16th century (in the sense 'severe, bitter'): from French, literally 'stinging, pricking', present participle of piquer.