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Sharply vs Poignant - What's the difference?

sharply | poignant |

As an adverb sharply

is in a sharp manner; pertaining to precision.

As an adjective poignant is

(obsolete|of a weapon etc) sharp-pointed; keen.

sharply

English

Adverb

(en-adv)
  • In a sharp manner; pertaining to precision.
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=November 11 , author=Rory Houston , title=Estonia 0-4 Republic of Ireland , work=RTE Sport citation , page= , passage=Walters tried a long range shot in the third minute as he opened the game sharply , linking well with Robbie Keane, but goalkeeper Sergei Pareiko gathered the ball with ease.}}
  • Intellectually alert and penetrating.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1922, author=
  • , title=The Cuckoo in the Nest , chapter=1 citation , passage=Peter, after the manner of man at the breakfast table, had allowed half his kedgeree to get cold and was sniggering over a letter. Sophia looked at him sharply . The only letter she had received was from her mother. Sophia's mother was not a humourist.}}
  • * 2013 June 18, , " Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders," New York Times (retrieved 21 June 2013):
  • The economy has slowed to a pale shadow of its growth in recent years; inflation is high, the currency is declining sharply against the dollar — but the expectations of Brazilians have rarely been higher, feeding broad intolerance with corruption, bad schools and other government failings.

    poignant

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (obsolete, of a weapon etc) Sharp-pointed; keen.
  • * 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , VII:
  • His siluer shield, now idle maisterlesse; / His poynant speare, that many made to bleed [...].
  • Incisive; penetrating.
  • His comments were poignant and witty.
  • neat; eloquent; applicable; relevant.
  • A poignant reply will garner more credence than hours of blown smoke.
  • Evoking strong mental sensation, to the point of distress; emotionally moving.
  • Flipping through his high school yearbook evoked many a poignant memory of yesteryear.
  • (figuratively, of a taste or smell) Piquant, pungent.
  • Piercing.
  • (dated, mostly British) Inducing sharp physical pain.
  • Synonyms

    * (evoking strong mental sensation) distressing, moving

    References

    * OED 2nd edition 1989 * Webster Third New International 1986 ----