How to Use pungency in a Sentence

pungency

noun
  • Feta cheese creams out the pesto and tames the pungency of the broccoli.
    — Christian Reynoso, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 Sep. 2021
  • These chapters are held together not so much by theme as by pungency.
    — The New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2021
  • The sauce is honeyed and tomato-rich, faintly spicy, with a pinch of oregano added at the end for pungency.
    — Sam Sifton, New York Times, 29 May 2018
  • Soak them in cold water for 5 minutes, then drain; this will reduce their pungency.
    — The Washington Post, NOLA.com, 28 Dec. 2017
  • The oyster sauce lends the dish a rich savoriness without the pungency that can come with seafood.
    — Amber Lee, Bon Appétit, 18 Nov. 2020
  • The pungency does wonders for adding depth, heat, and extra oomph that takes it from good to memorable.
    — Antara Sinha, Bon Appétit, 13 Sep. 2022
  • The highveld mole rat is immune to the pungency of mustard, radishes, and wasabi.
    — Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's magazine, 22 July 2019
  • The pungency of the horseradish, which can make onions seem mild mannered, would make their eyes water.
    — Carol Deptolla, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2022
  • If it’s made well, the oil will strike a balance of fruitiness, bitterness and pungency.
    — Ted Trautman, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 June 2018
  • Just someone enjoying their lunch with no regard for its pungency.
    — Brittany Bowker, BostonGlobe.com, 15 Sep. 2022
  • There was a pungency in Apple’s torch-and-honey voice emitting growls, shrieks, and hoots.
    — Mick Stevens, The New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2021
  • But none of them has the musky pungency that makes the herb such a hallmark of Peruvian cooking.
    — Gustavo Arellanostaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2019
  • Wasabi is known for its nasal-clearing pungency, exceeding that of any other condiment.
    — Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 18 Apr. 2026
  • Crushed coconut, fresh cilantro and lemon juice form a base that gains heat from green chiles and additional pungency from onions and vinegar.
    — Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 4 Sep. 2020
  • Aroma dissipates but can linger The aroma has the sharp pungency of a rotten egg.
    — Richard Ruelas, azcentral, 27 Mar. 2018
  • Fresh ginger gets its pungency and aroma from the flavor compound, gingerol.
    — Alice Chi Phung, Discover Magazine, 30 Sep. 2014
  • Then there’s an additional sense of pungency, [as in] the burning feeling of pepper from hot wings.
    — NBC News, 30 Oct. 2017
  • In terms of pungency, white are generally the mildest, red the sharpest, and yellow somewhere in between.
    — Alex Delany, Bon Appétit, 17 May 2021
  • The green onions add some pungency, and the cheddar cheese ensures that even the brisket that's not in direct contact with the mac n' cheese is still touching cheese.
    — Ted Berg, USA TODAY, 27 Oct. 2017
  • Red onion adds pungency while a couple of tablespoons of fresh, feathery dill bring a cooling, fragrant burst of freshness to the dish.
    — Martha Stewart, 15 May 2026
  • And the focus on a real person over a period of years certainly adds pungency to the debate.
    — Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Nov. 2019
  • The tomatoes are bright and tangy, while the garlic cloves are melt-away mellowness with very little of the biting pungency of fresh garlic.
    — Paul Stephen, ExpressNews.com, 6 May 2020
  • The pungency of the garlic is gone, replaced by mellow sour notes accentuated with a pleasant, sake-like scent.
    — Julia Skinner, Longreads, 16 July 2022
  • Don’t overlook Bilavarn’s papaya salad, a crisp, fragrant muddle underscored with the pungency of shrimp paste and fish sauce.
    — Patricia Escárcega, latimes.com, 3 July 2019
  • The Scherzo married sweetness and pungency.
    — Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Mar. 2026
  • Garlic chives give the broth a mouth-watering pungency that makes the relatively bland vegetables taste amazing.
    — Soleil Ho, SFChronicle.com, 30 May 2020
  • Both the bratwurst and the wiener, reminiscent of a hot dog that spent a semester abroad, have a pleasantly snappy casing and a peppery pungency.
    — Washington Post, 20 Sep. 2019
  • His Mozart is beautiful without ever being pretty—the fortepiano’s innate pungency makes sure of that.
    — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2022
  • The Japanese-style takikomi gohan with tuna and broccoli has a vibrant color and the pungency of ginger.
    — The Washington Post, The Denver Post, 28 Feb. 2017
  • The Scoville scale was created in 1912 to measure pungency of chile peppers.
    — Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Nov. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pungency.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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