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Piquant flavors "sting" the tongue and piquant words "prick" the intellect, arousing interest. These varying senses reflect the etymology of the word piquant, which first appeared in English in the 17th century and which derives from the Middle French verb piquer, meaning "to sting" or "to prick." Though first used to describe foods with spicy flavors, the word is now often used to describe things that are spicy in other ways, such as engaging conversation. Have we piqued your curiosity about another piquer offspring? If you’ve already guessed that the verb pique, meaning "to offend" or "to arouse by provocation," comes from piquer, too, you’ve got a sharp mind.
Examples of piquant in a Sentence
Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 29 Mar. 2025
In addition to an extended flowering season and piquant fragrance, catmints attract lots of pollinators and deter deer.
—Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Apr. 2025
Splendid orange animal piper on the label of this 14% alcohol wine that includes piqued and piquant aromas of blue fruit, vanilla, orange peels, wet granite, fern glen, soda lime and flint.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
Raw tuna is often presented in ways that emphasize its subtlety and richness; here, instead, all those piquant, pickly bits seem to give the fish’s oceanic sweetness permission to flex and flow, revealing its character the way a few drops of water open up a rare single malt.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for piquant
Cite this Entry
“Piquant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/piquant. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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