What's the difference between poignant and trenchant?

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.

Trenchant


Definition:

  • (v. t.) Fitted to trench or cut; gutting; sharp.
  • (v. t.) Fig.: Keen; biting; severe; as, trenchant wit.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The hostility Said encountered from pro-Israeli circles in New York was predictable, given his trenchant attacks on Israeli violations of the human rights of Palestinians and his outspoken condemnations of US policies in the Middle East.
  • (2) He went with a bang not a whimper: two of his last contributions to the New Republic were a trenchant critique of the history of the six-day war by Michael Oren, now Israeli ambassador to Washington, and an evisceration of Koba the Dread, Martin Amis's purported book on Stalin.
  • (3) Yet with growing numbers of civilian deaths and escalating violence, many British Syrians have become more trenchant in putting forward pro- or anti-regime views.
  • (4) This year she won plaudits from fellow peers and disability activists alike over a series of trenchant interventions on the controversial welfare reform bill .
  • (5) "If there is one thing that has been wrong with this World Cup it is Fifa’s ridiculous insistence that teams wear predominantly light or dark strips," begins Stewart Todd, before taking a deep breath and resuming his diatribe, utilising both the 'relentless' and 'trenchant' styles.
  • (6) Ruggie’s report was welcomed by Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation and a trenchant critic of the lack of progress by Qatar on the migrant workers issue.
  • (7) Jones told Turnbull that because he had had dinner with Palmer, a trenchant critic of Abbott, “people” were suggesting that “precisely because you have no hope ever of being the leader again – you have got that into your head, no hope ever – that because of that you are happy to chuck a few bombs around that might blow up Abbott a bit, that is what they are saying.” Turnbull replied that it was Jones who was undermining the Abbott government and “doing the work of the Labor party”, a charge not usually levelled at the Sydney announcer who is an ardent supporter of the prime minister.
  • (8) He was speaking to The Independent, which reports: Mr Fisher trenchantly defends those decisions made at the height of the crisis.
  • (9) That is not only because of McDonnell’s trenchant hard-left economic views, but also because of his combative approach.
  • (10) The White House, fearing the impact of a European disaster on Barack Obama's re-election campaign, is becoming more trenchant in its criticism of the eurozone and its demands of the Germans.
  • (11) Former centre-right president Nicolas Sarkozy was reported to have supplied his own trenchant critique, even as Brignoles voters were preparing to elect Lopez in the second round.
  • (12) The comments from Maria Hutchings, described by Lib Dems as a Sarah Palin figure for her trenchant views and tendency to speak off-message, provoked a storm of protest as political opponents and state-educated celebrities, said she had insulted state schools, including two local ones with glowing Ofsted reports.
  • (13) I don't for a minute accept the logic of reforms that put individuals in private debt to avoid public debt but even the most trenchant libertarian can find fault when those same reforms end up costing the Treasury more money.
  • (14) He chose to release a trenchantly-worded judgment, explaining why had made the initial ruling to keep the identity of the footballer secret, in which he concluded there was "ample reason not to trust" the young woman.
  • (15) For old hands at the negotiations, such as Yvo de Boer, a former Dutch civil servant and UN climate chief known for his trenchant views, the conferences have become trapped in an endless cycle of repeats.
  • (16) But Abbott’s trenchant opposition to the fund is seen as an impediment to any contribution.
  • (17) As a result, general inequality has been becoming more grievous with every year that passes, and without a bleat from the leaders of the party who once spoke up so trenchantly and characteristically for greater equality.
  • (18) Rival Palestinian groups have hailed the signing of a reconciliation agreement that could change the parameters of the search for Middle East peace, amid trenchant opposition from Israel.
  • (19) The faith-based failure to plan for the invasion’s aftermath, rightly damned in trenchant terms by Sir John, was the most catastrophic for the Iraqi people, and indeed for the British service personnel in harm’s way.
  • (20) He has been the most prominent of black British intellectuals since the 1960s, a prominent figure of the Open University and among the most trenchant critics of Thatcherism.