piquant

/ˈpiːkənt/

//ˈpiːkənt// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"piquant" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“piquant” is uncommon English (frequency #72,652 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,652
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Causing hurt feelings; scathing, severe.

Corpus desk

Index EN-piquant · piquant · English

piquant · rank #72,652 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #72,652
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH planktonic

Nearest frequency peer: planktonic (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “piquant”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “piquant” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for piquant
PropertyValue
Headwordpiquant
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈpiːkənt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#72,652
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “piquant” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).piquantfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “planktonic” (#72,653), “pinner” (#72,650), “plasterer” (#72,654). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “piquant” is #72,652. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

piquant is uncommon English at frequency #72,652 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈpiːkənt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for piquant in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French piquant (“pricking, stimulating, irritating”), present participle of piquer, possibly from Old French pikier (“to prick, sting, nettle”). Doublet of picong. Related to pike. The correct English form is piquant, spelled P-I-Q-U-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Causing hurt feelings; scathing, severe.
  2. 2
    Stimulating to the senses; engaging; charming.
  3. 3
    Favorably stimulating to the palate; pleasantly spicy; tangy.
  4. 4
    Producing a burning sensation due to the presence of chilies or similar spices; spicy, hot.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how piquant appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Their husbands […] leave home to seek for more agreeable, may I be allowed to use a significant French word, piquant society […]
  2. He looked after her as she retreated, with a fondness which was rendered more piquant, as it were, by the mixture of a certain scorn which accompanied it.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French piquant (“pricking, stimulating, irritating”), present participle of piquer, possibly from Old French pikier (“to prick, sting, nettle”). Doublet of picong. Related to pike.

This word in other languages

picante(Español)piquant(Français)pikant(Deutsch)interessante(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "piquant"?
"piquant" is spelled P-I-Q-U-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpiːkənt/.
What does "piquant" mean?
As an adjective, "piquant" means: Causing hurt feelings; scathing, severe.
How do you pronounce "piquant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "piquant" is /ˈpiːkənt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "piquant"?
Borrowed from Middle French piquant (“pricking, stimulating, irritating”), present participle of piquer, possibly from Old French pikier (“to prick, sting, nettle”). Doublet of picong. Related to pike. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "piquant", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pillbox#72,649pilcher#72,648pidgeon#72,646pounces#72,666

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list