piquant

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++pi·quant /ˈpiːkənt/ adjective  1  HOT TASTEhaving a pleasantly spicy taste 辛辣的；开胃的 a piquant wild mushroom sauce 开胃的野蘑菇酱► see thesaurus at taste2. INTERESTINGinteresting and exciting 有趣的；激动人心的 —piquantly adverb —piquancy noun [uncountable] The production retains its original piquancy. 这出戏保留了原作的趣味。

Examples from the Corpus

piquant• It is always fresh and often pleasingly piquant.• The piquant champignons had large mushroom caps stuffed with crumbled country sausage and topped with bread crumbs.• a tale full of piquant characters and vivid descriptions• Steve maintains that the peppers give the bland turkey a piquant flavour.• His cilantro-laced sauteed shrimp, piquant goat-cheese salad and tender smoked salmon fettuccine are heavenly enough.• She was weighed down with a confusing mixture of feelings that sometimes felt so mellow and piquant, it was almost pleasant.• This image of an undamaged whole brought with it a doubt which Franca found piquant rather than disturbing.• A piquant salsa verde brought everything together.• a piquant sauce with garlic and red peppers• The piquant sweetness of rhubarb stalks, cooked and raw, have always been popular abroad.Origin piquant (1500-1600) French present participle of piquer; → PIQUE2

pi·quant adjectiveChineseSyllable  

pleasantly Corpus taste a having spicy

piquant
pi‧quant /ˈpiːkənt/ adjective1. having a pleasantly spicy taste:
    a piquant wild mushroom sauce
2. interesting and exciting
—piquantly adverb
—piquancy noun [uncountable]:
    The production retains its original piquancy.
     

THESAURUS

■ describing the taste of something
   ▪ delicious having a very good taste: This cake is delicious! | a delicious meal
   ▪ disgusting/revolting having a very bad taste: The medicine tasted disgusting. | They had to eat revolting things, like fish eyes.
   ▪ sweet tasting full of sugar: The oranges were very sweet.
   ▪ tasty especially spoken tasting good and with plenty of flavour: She cooked us a simple but tasty meal. | That was really tasty!
   ▪ sour/tart having a taste that stings your tongue slightly, like lemon does – used especially when this is rather unpleasant: The apples were a little sour. | The wine has rather a tart taste, which not everyone will like.
   ▪ tangy having a taste that stings your tongue slightly, like lemon does, in a way that seems good: The dressing was nice and tangy.
   ▪ bitter having a strong taste which is not sweet and is sometimes rather unpleasant – used for example about black coffee, or chocolate without sugar: bitter chocolate | The medicine had rather a bitter taste. | Hops give beer its distinctive bitter taste.
   ▪ salty containing a lot of salt: Danish salami has a salty flavour.
   ▪ hot/spicy having a burning taste because it contains strong spices: I love hot curries. | a spicy tomato sauce
   ▪ piquant /ˈpiːkənt/ formal a little spicy – used especially by people who write about food. This word can sound rather pretentious in everyday conversation: cooked vegetables in a piquant sauce
   ▪ mild not having a strong or hot taste – usually used about foods that can sometimes be spicy: a mild curry
   ▪ bland not having an interesting taste: I found the sauce rather bland.

pi·quantBrE /ˈpiːkənt/ 🔊NAmE /ˈpiːkənt/ 🔊 adjectivehaving a pleasantly strong or spicy taste 辛辣的；开胃的exciting and interesting 刺激的；令人兴奋的；有趣的