EN

Synonyms for trenchant

  • adjective

Most common

incisive sharp caustic pungent

All synonyms

Adjective

1. Incisive — keen; biting; vigorously articulate and effective; severe

incisive, sharp, caustic, pungent, sarcastic, clear-cut, biting, keen, distinct, severe, cutting, poignant, mordant, satirical, stinging, penetrating, acrid, acrimonious, piercing, tart, mordacious

Other

hard-hitting, effective, searching

Antonyms

vague, weak, ineffective

All antonyms of trenchant →

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    Keen; biting; vigorously articulate and effective; severe.

Example sentences

  • sarcastic I wonder whether Tom and Mary are being sarcastic.
  • caustic Our English teacher likes to make caustic comments.
  • pungent Pungent fumes arose from the chemical mixture.
  • incisive Your incisive criticism will deflate a lot of egos.
  • searching Half of the world is searching for the other half.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
trenchantsteady
sarcasticrising
causticfalling
pungentrising
incisivesteady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters
keen1, tart1
5 letters
sharp1, acrid2
6 letters
severe2, biting2
7 letters
cutting2, caustic2, pungent2, mordant2
8 letters
distinct2, piercing2, poignant2, stinging2, incisive3
9 letters
effective3, searching2, sarcastic3, satirical4
10 letters
mordacious
11 letters
penetrating4, acrimonious5

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (acrid2 = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français
tranchant
Italiano
tagliente
Español
cortante