as in bitterness
a harsh or sharp quality
there's a mean-spirited poignance to the novel's satiric portrait of Hollywood
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of poignance
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poignance
Noun
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The fight ends with Shauna taking a bite out of Melissa’s arm, pinning her down and demanding Melissa eat her own flesh.—
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The site of the leech bite was treated, and the farmer was given iron supplements to take for a month to manage his anemia, doctors said.—
Noun
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There will be a similar poignancy this year for the 50th anniversary of the ‘75 pennant team, which will be incomplete without Luis Tiant, who passed away last October.—
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The pair channel a believable chemistry as father and daughter that lands the emotional poignancy of a penultimate scene.—
Noun
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According to Nobel prize-winning economist, Eugene Fama, smaller companies and cheaper companies tend to have an edge over larger, more expensive companies over time.—
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The brass hardware gives it a hint of an edge to balance out the rustic wood, while the scalloped details on the doors adds some whimsy to the mix.—
Cite this Entry
“Poignance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poignance. Accessed 8 Apr. 2025.
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