Vocabulary
Poignant meaning: deeply moving or sadly touching
A photograph from childhood may make you smile and feel a little sad at the same time. Poignant is useful when a moment carries that kind of feeling.
Use poignant for something that creates a strong feeling, often because it is sad, tender, or connected to a meaningful memory.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
poignant /ˈpɔɪ.njənt/
The short answer
Poignant means deeply moving or emotionally touching, especially in a gentle, sad, or tender way.
Her final letter was poignant because it thanked the people she was leaving behind.
Why it works: The letter creates a strong feeling of affection and sadness.
3 more examples
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The film ends with a poignant scene at the empty train station.
The scene affects the audience emotionally, perhaps through loss, memory, or farewell.
Not this:The film ends with
a sad sceneat the empty train station. What changes: Sad describes the mood of the scene. Poignant also suggests that the scene touches the audience deeply. -
He gave a poignant account of returning to his childhood home after many years.
The account is moving because the return connects the speaker with a meaningful past.
Not this:He gave
a detailed accountof returning to his childhood home after many years. What changes: Detailed tells us how much information the account has. It does not describe its emotional effect. -
The old recording was a poignant reminder of their friendship.
The recording brings back a friendship and creates a strong, tender feeling.
Not this:The old recording was
a useful reminderof their friendship. What changes: Useful says that the recording helps someone remember. Poignant adds the emotional response.
Read the full guide
Use poignant when you want to show the emotional effect of something. Sad tells us about a feeling or event. Poignant tells us that something makes people feel that emotion deeply.
Start with the emotional effect
A poignant thing moves the person who sees, hears, or reads it. The word describes the effect of the event on its audience.
The teacher's farewell message was poignant.
Use it for memories, words, and scenes
Poignant often appears with memory, reminder, story, letter, scene, moment, image, and speech. These nouns can carry meaning that makes a reader or listener stop and feel something.
Her photograph was a poignant reminder of a happier time.
The actor delivered a poignant final speech.
Compare poignant and sad
Sad is a broad word for an unhappy feeling or event. Poignant is more specific. It describes something that creates a strong, often mixed emotional response in another person.
A sad ending may make you unhappy. A poignant ending may make you think about loss, love, or a memory as well.
Keep the tone in mind
Poignant has a reflective tone. It fits a book review, an account of a personal event, or a careful description of art. In a casual conversation, moving or touching may feel more natural.
The museum display included a poignant letter written during the war.
Choose it in context
A former student sends a teacher a note saying that one class changed the direction of her life. Is poignant a good choice for the note?
Yes. The note may create a strong feeling because it connects a kind message with a meaningful past experience.
Before you go
Remember this
Use poignant for something that reaches people emotionally, often through sadness, tenderness, or memory. It commonly modifies nouns such as moment, story, image, reminder, and scene.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
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Try the written questionsQuestions about "Poignant meaning: deeply moving or sadly touching"
What does poignant mean?
Poignant means deeply moving or emotionally touching, often because something is sad, tender, or connected with a meaningful memory.
The film ends with a poignant scene at the empty train station.
Is poignant the same as sad?
No. Sad describes an unhappy feeling or event. Poignant describes something that causes a strong emotional response, which may include sadness and affection.
The film ends with a sad scene at the empty train station.
Can a memory be poignant?
Yes. A memory can be poignant when it brings back a person, place, or time that matters deeply to someone.
He gave a poignant account of returning to his childhood home after many years.
What nouns are often used with poignant?
Common combinations include poignant memory, poignant reminder, poignant scene, poignant story, poignant moment, and poignant speech.
He gave a detailed account of returning to his childhood home after many years.
How do you pronounce poignant?
Poignant is pronounced POY-nyuhnt, with the first sound like the word boy. The spelling can look harder than the pronunciation.
The old recording was a poignant reminder of their friendship.
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