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Profoundly moving; touching: a poignant memory. See Synonyms at moving.
(adjective)
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Physically painful: "Keen, poignant agonies seemed to shoot from his neck downward” ( Ambrose Bierce).
(adjective)
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Keenly distressing to the mind or feelings: poignant anxiety.
(adjective)
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Piercing; incisive: poignant criticism.
(adjective)
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Neat, skillful, and to the point: poignant illustrations supplementing the text.
(adjective)
American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.