Definition of "punchy" [punch•y]

• Characterized by vigor or drive: "He speaks in short, punchy sentences, using plain, populist words that excite” ( Washington Post). (adjective)
• Groggy or dazed from or as if from a punch or series of punches; punch-drunk. (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.

• "Such black-and-white bipolarity is enormously palatable when packaged in punchy, 90-second sound bytes."
• "Despite this being my fifth book launch, I find myself as elated and baffled and nervous and delighted and just plain punchy about the idea that something I wrote is hitting shelves all over the country today as ever."
• "Yeah, I'm punchy from the computer drama, what of it?"