Home › Words › P › pungencepungencepungence means the quality of odor/odour that stings the nose, said especially of acidic or spicy substances.Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, pungence ranks #994 of 42,752 for Qualifying.EtymologyFrom Latin pungēns, present participle of pungō (“to sting”).nounThe quality of odor/odour that stings the nose, said especially of acidic or spicy substances.e.g.“The pungence of the garlic made my eyes water.”Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).Words closest in meaningBy meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.pungent 84% match — Having a strong odor that stings the nose; said especially of acidic or spicy substances. vs pungence →acritude 66% match — acridity; pungency combined with heat. vs pungence →pepperiness 62% match — The quality of being peppery. vs pungence →overpungent 62% match — Excessively pungent. vs pungence →piquance 61% match — piquancy; having a piquant taste. vs pungence →odorosity 61% match — The quality or degree of being odorous. vs pungence →punkiness 60% match — The quality of being punky (in various senses). vs pungence →pulpiness 59% match — The quality of being pulpy. vs pungence →