Poignant vs Vituperative - What's the difference?
poignant | vituperative |
(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.
marked by harsh, spoken, or written abuse; abusive, often with ranting or railing
* 1598 :
* 2009 " [
As adjectives the difference between poignant and vituperative
is that poignant is (obsolete|of a weapon etc) sharp-pointed; keen while vituperative is marked by harsh, spoken, or written abuse; abusive, often with ranting or railing.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 ----vituperative
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- Vituperative appellations derived from their real or supposed ill qualities.
Jeffrey St. Clair]], [[http://www.counterpunch.org www.counterpunch.org]
- The injunction also became a pretext for yet another round of Vituperative cant from Idaho's reactionary congressional delegation against provoking folks like hippie Roselle.[http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair10302009.html]