Poignant vs Tragedy - What's the difference?
poignant | tragedy |
(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.
A drama or similar work, in which the main character is brought to ruin or otherwise suffers the extreme consequences of some tragic flaw or weakness of character.
The genre of such works, and the art of producing them.
A disastrous event, especially one involving great loss of life or injury.
* {{quote-book, year=1905, author=
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As an adjective poignant
is sharp-pointed; keen.As a noun tragedy is
a drama or similar work, in which the main character is brought to ruin or otherwise suffers the extreme consequences of some tragic flaw or weakness of character.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 ----tragedy
English
(wikipedia tragedy)Alternative forms
* (archaic) * (l) (archaic) * (archaic) * (l) (archaic) * (l) (archaic)Noun
(tragedies)citation, passage=“The story of this adoption is, of course, the pivot round which all the circumstances of the mysterious tragedy revolved. Mrs. Yule had an only son, namely, William, to whom she was passionately attached ; but, like many a fond mother, she had the desire of mapping out that son's future entirely according to her own ideas. […]”}}