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Piquant vs Spicy - What's the difference?

piquant | spicy |

As adjectives the difference between piquant and spicy

is that piquant is engaging; charming while spicy is of, pertaining to, or containing spice.

piquant

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Engaging; charming.
  • Favorably stimulating to the palate; pleasantly spicy; stimulating.
  • * 2000 , Lynn Bedford Hall, Best of Cooking in South Africa (page 2000)
    • These chops are baked in a piquant sauce containing fruit, honey, cinnamon, lemon and port, all of which reduces to a spicy syrup.
  • * 2005 , Clifford A. Wright, Some like it hot: spicy favorites from the world's hot zones
    • Elsewhere in South America, excepting Bahia in Brazil, one does not encounter piquant cuisine, although one may stumble on a piquant dish now and then...
  • * 2009 , Sara Engra, Katie Luber, Kimberly Toqe, The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices (page 9)
    • French charcuterie relies on cloves in the quatre épices, or four-spice powder, for seasoning fine sausages and piquant marinades.
  • (archaic) Causing hurt feelings; scathing.

    • spicy

    English

    Alternative forms

    * spicey

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Of, pertaining to, or containing spice.
    • He prepared a spicy casserole.
  • (of flavors) Provoking a burning sensation due to the presence of chillies or similar hot spices.
    • ''This curry is too spicy for me. I can't eat it.
  • (of flavors or odors) Tangy, zesty, or pungent.
    • She breathed in the strong, spicy aroma.
  • (of expression or behavior) Vigorous; colorful; stimulating.
    • He is known for his spicy political commentary.
  • , sexy, racy; mildly pornographic.
    • I don't want my children to see the spicy images on this web site.

    Synonyms

    * (piquant) hot

    References

    * * * * " spicy" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007) * * Oxford English Dictionary , second edition (1989) * Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary (1987-1996) ----