Meanings
nounpoignance (countable and uncountable, plural poignances)
plural poignances
- countableuncountablePoignancy; the quality or state of being poignant.First known use 17th c.
The objects themselves might have come from some Stone Age grave so remote did they seem: yet they had poignance.
1983, Lawrence Durrell, Sebastian (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 2004, page 10161 more example
Too bad Locke's idea didn't catch on; the thought of measuring things in philosophical feet has an unquestionable poignance.
1988 August 19, Cecil Adams, “The Straight Dope”, in Chicago Reader
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Cite this entry
APA
poignance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poignance
MLA
“poignance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poignance. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “poignance,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poignance.
Source: poignance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.