Sorrowful vs Poignant - What's the difference?
sorrowful | poignant |
Of a person, full of sorrow; exhibiting sorrow; sad; dejected; distressed; distraught.
Producing sorrow; exciting grief; mournful; lamentable; grievous.
* 1900 , L. Frank Baum , The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Chapter 23
(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.
As adjectives the difference between sorrowful and poignant
is that sorrowful is of a person, full of sorrow; exhibiting sorrow; sad; dejected; distressed; distraught while poignant is sharp-pointed; keen.sorrowful
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- sorrowful accident
- She threw her arms around the Lion's neck and kissed him, patting his big head tenderly. Then she kissed the Tin Woodman, who was weeping in a way most dangerous to his joints. But she hugged the soft, stuffed body of the Scarecrow in her arms instead of kissing his painted face, and found she was crying herself at this sorrowful parting from her loving comrades.
Synonyms
* See also * mournful, lamentable, grievous * See alsoExternal links
* *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.