Something that is pungent has a strong, sharp smell or taste which is often so strong that it is unpleasant. The more herbs you use, the more pungent the sauce will be. the pungent smell of burning rubber. delicate + pungency pun·gen·cy the spices that give Jamaican food its pungency
approval If you describe what someone has said or written as pungent, you approve of it because it has a direct and powerful effect and often criticizes something very cleverly. He enjoyed the play's shrewd and pungent social analysis