What's the difference between piquant and poignant?

Piquant


Definition:

  • (a.) Stimulating to the taste; giving zest; tart; sharp; pungent; as, a piquant anecdote.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The present experiment shows that the piquant chow eaten by rats produced a fall in rectal temperature 48 h later.
  • (2) And there are entries that point to Peel as an incorrigible collector and tireless champion of the recherche: with all due respect to an oeuvre that included the piquant-sounding Fuckin' 4 Bucks and I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, how many albums by Washington DC splattercore pioneers the Accüsed does one man really need?
  • (3) One final thought: if Lebedev is toying with the idea of distributing the Independent for free, he may well be able, piquantly, to acquire the paper and its Sunday sister for the same price.
  • (4) The great lexicographer, of course, is as fat in fame as ever, though more for his piquant remarks to Boswell than for his own writings.
  • (5) In three experiments on the social induction of food preferences in rats, I found: (a) that eight 30-min exposures of a naive "observer" rat to a "demonstrator" rat fed one of two approximately equipalatable diets produced observer preference for the diet fed to its demonstrator that lasted for more than a month, (b) that simple exposure of naive subjects to a diet itself, rather than to a rat that had eaten a diet, was not sufficient to enhance preference for that diet, and (c) that lasting preference for an unpalatable, piquant diet could also be established by exposing naive rats to demonstrators that had eaten the piquant diet, but not by simply exposure to the piquant diet itself.
  • (6) In this series, the choice between piquant and nonpiquant chow showed that 4 rats out of 5 preferred to eat the chow without capsaicin.
  • (7) After this habituation period, when free to choose, 3 rats out of 4 preferred eating the piquant chow.
  • (8) The food cooked in this predominantly Muslim neighbourhood is as piquant as the hot pink and burnt orange painted houses that rise gently up the lower slopes of Signal Hill, part of Table Mountain.
  • (9) Clearly, this hyperreal simulation juxtaposes piquantly with the all-too real world in which Uruguayan football fans send death threats to the Newcastle United defender Paul Dummett for clattering their compatriot, striker Luis Suarez.
  • (10) The present experiment provides some evidence that rats accustomed to eat piquant food manifested, when free to choose, a preference for an innately unpalatable piquant chow.
  • (11) He rejoined the Guardian as sketchwriter and remained there for the rest of his working life, consistently finding even on the dullest and least eventful of days something vivid, piquant and unexpected to say.
  • (12) Just as Lolita , as Nabokov piquantly notes in his afterword, was variously read as "old Europe debauching young America" or "young America debauching old Europe", GTA IV leaves itself interpretatively open as to whether Niko is corrupted by America or whether he and his ilk (many of the most vicious characters whose paths Niko crosses are immigrants) are themselves bacterial agents of corruption.
  • (13) There is real dissent in Italy, and in its gentle but piquant way, Reality is part of that.
  • (14) It’s tempting to imagine that writer and director Andrew Haigh conjured that line in response to the more piquant criticisms of his series, whose lack of an obvious agenda led some to label it “post-gay”.
  • (15) When the club switched the catering contract from one local firm to another in the early 2000s, the new chef spent months trying to perfect the piquant blend, which his piqued predecessor refused to pass on.

Poignant


Definition:

  • (a.) Pricking; piercing; sharp; pungent.
  • (a.) Fig.: Pointed; keen; satirical.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Totò was a legend in the Vesuvian city – a comedian of genius; poignant, mysterious.
  • (2) Fleeting though it may have been (he jetted off to New York this morning and is due in Toronto on Saturday), there was a poignant reason for his appearance: he was here to play a tribute set to Frankie Knuckles, the Godfather of house and one of Morales's closest friends, who died suddenly in March.
  • (3) One of the most poignant exchanges came when Tony was asked by @ juliangratton to sum up the last seven years of his life.
  • (4) The exercise yard is adorned with poignant children's paintings in response to school trips here.
  • (5) This double bind may be particularly poignant for grandparents in single mother families.
  • (6) This addition was particularly poignant as Andrew Jackson’s legacy includes the decision to sign the Indian Removal Act of 1830 , which gave the federal government power to expel Native American tribes from their land.
  • (7) This poignant letter, addressing Recep Tayyip Erdogan and written by one of the protesters in Istanbul's historic Taksim Square , was widely circulated on Turkey's social media.
  • (8) Treasure Island gives us an intense sense of place, and a poignant coming-of-age story full of moral ambiguity.
  • (9) Their songs ranged from the almost unbearably poignant ("Hand in Glove") to the frankly vulnerable ("How Soon is Now").
  • (10) The image of the France midfielder walking, head bowed, past the World Cup trophy is one of the more poignant in football history.
  • (11) The second series of BBC1’s hit drama Happy Valley ended on Tuesday night , bowing out in a wondrous blaze of confrontation, perceptive resolution and poignant revelation.
  • (12) Ed Miliband said: "This is a tragic and poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by our armed forces in serving our country with bravery and distinction."
  • (13) But the American author, already the recipient of the Man Booker International prize, the Pulitzer and the National Book award , said it was "particularly poignant for me to have gotten news of the award only a few weeks after the death of Carlos Fuentes, who received the award in 1994".
  • (14) A picture sits on each one of the chairs, decorated by poignant letters, orange flowers and gifts.
  • (15) Or perhaps we could focus on the relationship of Leia and Solo, now married, and there could be a heart-rendingly poignant study of their elderly existence together, rather like Michael Haneke's Amour , but set in space.
  • (16) Dern, all windblown white hair and stubble, is often entirely silent and withdrawn, and all the more compelling and poignant for that.
  • (17) On the basis of this limited but poignant experience, we propose an outline of steps in management to help others avoid similar problems.
  • (18) Yet the narratives in Benefits Street have a human and poignant quality, often presenting decent and compassionate people disenfranchised by an unfair society.
  • (19) Sandy Nairne, director of the NPG, said: "The Van Dyck self-portrait is a poignant portrait of great significance.
  • (20) It was poignant, afterwards, to hear Martínez try to put the human element into some perspective.