Poignant vs Lively - What's the difference?
poignant | lively | Related terms |
(obsolete, of a weapon etc) Sharp-pointed; keen.
* 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , VII:
Incisive; penetrating.
neat; eloquent; applicable; relevant.
Evoking strong mental sensation, to the point of distress; emotionally moving.
(figuratively, of a taste or smell) Piquant, pungent.
Piercing.
(dated, mostly British) Inducing sharp physical pain.
Full of life; energetic.
* 1671 , (John Milton), (Samson Agonistes)
* , chapter=7
, title= * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 29, author=Jon Smith, work=BBC Sport
, title= Bright; vivid; glowing; strong; vigorous.
* 1704 , (Isaac Newton), (Opticks): Or, A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light
* 1688 , (Robert South), Sacramental Preparation: Set forth in a Sermon on Matthew 5, 12.
(archaic) Endowed with or manifesting life; living.
* c. 1600 , (Philemon Holland)
(archaic) Representing life; lifelike.
* 1632 , (Philip Massinger) and (Nathan Field), (The Fatal Dowry)
(archaic) Airy; animated; spirited.
* 1734 , (Alexander Pope), (An Essay on Man)
(of beer) Fizzy; foamy; tending to produce a large head in the glass.
(nautical)
* 1846 , (Herman Melville), (Typee)
(obsolete) In a lifelike manner.
* , III.i:
*, Folio Society, 2006, vol.1, p.220-1:
Vibrantly, vividly.
Poignant is a related term of lively.
As an adjective poignant
is (obsolete|of a weapon etc) sharp-pointed; keen.As a proper noun lively is
.poignant
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- His siluer shield, now idle maisterlesse; / His poynant speare, that many made to bleed [...].
- His comments were poignant and witty.
- A poignant reply will garner more credence than hours of blown smoke.
- Flipping through his high school yearbook evoked many a poignant memory of yesteryear.
Synonyms
* (evoking strong mental sensation) distressing, movingReferences
* OED 2nd edition 1989 * Webster Third New International 1986 ----lively
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) lyvely, lifly, from (etyl) .Alternative forms
* (l) (obsolete)Adjective
(er)- But wherefore comes old Manoa in such haste, / With youthful steps? Much livelier than erewhile / He seems.
The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=[…] St.?Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.}}
Tottenham 3-1 Shamrock Rovers, passage=But with the lively Dos Santos pulling the strings behind strikers Pavlyuchenko and Defoe, Spurs controlled the first half without finding the breakthrough their dominance deserved.}}
- The colours of the prism are manifestly more full, intense, and lively that those of natural bodies.
- His faith must be not only living, but lively too.
- chaplets of gold and silver resembling lively flowers and leaves
- I spied the lively picture of my father.
- From grave to gay, from lively to severe.
Usage notes
* Nouns to which "lively" is often applied: person, character, lady, woman, man, audience, personality, art, guide, activity, game, lesson, introduction, discussion, debate, writing, image, town, city, village, etc.Derived terms
* look livelyNoun
(livelies)- Speak the word, my livelies , and I'll pilot her in.
Etymology 2
From (etyl) .Adverb
(en adverb)- Him to a dainty flowre she did transmew, / Which in that cloth was wrought, as if it liuely grew.
- the Painter Protogenes .
