1. (a.) Causing a sharp sensation to the taste, smell, or feelings; pricking; biting; acrid; as, a pungent spice\.

2. (v. t.) Sharply painful; penetrating; poignant; severe; caustic; stinging.

3. (v. t.) Prickly-pointed; hard and sharp.

Attic acerb acerbate acerbic acescent acid acrid acrimonious acute afflictive agonizing amaroidal aphoristic aromatic asperous astringent atrocious axiomatic barbed biting bitter bitter as gall brilliant caustic clever coarse consuming crab crabbed cramping crisp cruel cutting deafening distressing droll dry epigrammatic escharotic exciting excruciating facetious flavorful formulaic formulistic funny gnawing gnomic grave green griping hard harrowing harsh hot humorous humorsome hurtful hurting incisive intense irritating jesting jocose jocular joking joky joshing keen keen-witted lively loud mordant nimble-witted nose-piercing nose-tickling oppressive painful paroxysmal penetrating peppery peppy pickled piercing piquant pithy platitudinous poignant pointed proverbial provocative quick-witted racking racy rapier-like reeking rich rough salt salty sapid sarcastic scathing scintillating seasoned sec sententious severe sharp shooting smart snappy sour sour as vinegar soured sourish sparkling spasmatic spasmic spasmodic spicy spirited sprightly stabbing stern stimulating stinging strong strong-scented strong-smelling succinct suffocating tangy tart tartish tasty terse thundering tormenting torturous trenchant uninteresting unripe unsweet unsweetened upsetting vinegarish vinegary vitriolic vivacious whimsical witty zesty