Poignant

From Anglo-Norman poynaunt, puignant et al., Middle French poignant, present participle of poindre ("to prick"), from Latin pungÅ ("prick").

Full definition of poignant

1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, VII:His siluer shield, now idle maisterlesse;
His poynant speare, that many made to bleed ....

Incisive; penetrating.His comments were poignant and witty.
neat; eloquent; applicable; relevant.A poignant reply will garner more credence than hours of blown smoke.
Evoking strong mental sensation, to the point of distress; emotionally moving.Flipping through his high school yearbook evoked many a poignant memory of yesteryear.
(figuratively, of a taste or smell) Piquant, pungent.
(figuratively, of a look, or of words) Piercing.
(dated, mostly British) Inducing sharp physical pain.