poignant
adjective
Simple meaning
Causing a deep feeling of sadness or emotion.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
poynyuhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɔɪnjənt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Evoking strong mental sensation, to the point of distress; emotionally moving.
figurativelyof a lookword
Incisive; penetrating; piercing.
Neat; eloquent; applicable; relevant.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Evoking strong mental sensation, to the point of distress; emotionally moving.
Used this way, poignant is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It sounds natural in ordinary conversation and in expressive writing alike.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
Share your sentence
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Related Learning
Guides that use this word in context.
Vocabulary
Words for Mixed and Difficult Emotions
Precise vocabulary for complicated feelings that mix two emotions at once, such as bittersweet nostalgia, guilty relief, and wistful longing.
Writing
How to Put Art Into Words
Vocabulary for describing music, poetry, paintings, photography and performance, precise words for beauty, mood, emotion, originality and craft.
Collections with this word
Themed sets you can browse for free.
Use it yourself
Knowing “poignant” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.