What does piquant mean?
Word: Piquant
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Piquant means having a pleasing spicy taste that wakes up the tongue. It can also describe a remark or story that is lively and interesting.
Synonyms: spicy
How do you spell piquant?
Syllables: pi - quant
Tricky part: Your ear hears a plain k in the middle, but the page shows qu, as it does in bouquet and mosquito. Pupils who spell by sound leave the q out altogether.
Watch out for: pikant, peekant
Memory tip: Picture a queue at the chaat stall for the tastiest plate in town. That q stays in the word even though you only hear a k.
Piquant in a sentence
Example 1: Tamarind gives this chutney its piquant flavour.
Example 2: Aunt Shalini told a piquant story about her school days that kept the whole table listening.
Example 3: A squeeze of lime made the plain dal taste far more piquant.
Fun Fact
The French verb piquer means to sting, and that is where this word began: a piquant sauce gives the tongue a tiny, welcome sting.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Grandmother stirred a spoonful of jaggery into the sambar, and the piquent smell soon drifted out of the kitchen to the veranda where all of us were playing.
a) spoonful
b) jaggery
c) drifted
d) piquent
Show answer
d) piquent. The ending is ant, as in pleasant, not ent.
Mingle-Mangle
The jumbled letters in the sentence hide a word. Choose it.
The chef added green mango to give the curd rice a more qniaput flavour.
a) pungent
b) piquant
c) poignant
d) pleasant
Show answer
b) piquant. One letter settles it: only one option has a q.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word piquant as used in the sentence:
The mango pickle had a piquant taste that lifted the simple meal.
a) zesty
b) bland
c) tart
d) peppery
Show answer
b) bland. Three options add flavour to the meal; this one takes it away.
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are spelt correctly and one is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. piquant 2. aromatic 3. condimant 4. savoury
a) stinging the palate in an enjoyable way
b) salty rather than sweet in flavour
c) having a strong and pleasant smell
d) a sauce or spice that adds flavour to food
Show answer
d) a sauce or spice that adds flavour to food. Condiment ends in ment, like payment.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these snacks would you be most ready to call piquant?
a) plain boiled rice with warm milk
b) a slice of dry white bread
c) raw mango with chilli and salt
d) a bowl of unsalted semolina
Show answer
c) raw mango with chilli and salt
2. A piquant remark in a speech would most probably make the audience ____.
a) reach for their coats and bags
b) drift slowly off to sleep
c) sit up and take notice
d) look down at their shoes
Show answer
c) sit up and take notice
