Trenchant

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Trenchant \Trench"ant\, a. [OF. trenchant, F. tranchant, p. pr.
     See {Trench}, v. t.]
     1. Fitted to trench or cut; gutting; sharp. " Trenchant was
        the blade." --Chaucer.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. Fig.: Keen; biting; severe; as, trenchant wit.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  trenchant
       adj 1: having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought,
              expression, or intellect; "searching insights";
              "trenchant criticism" [syn: {searching}]
       2: characterized by or full of force and vigor; "a hard-hitting
          expose"; "a trenchant argument" [syn: {hard-hitting}]
       3: clearly or sharply defined to the mind; "clear-cut evidence
          of tampering"; "Claudius was the first to invade Britain
          with distinct...intentions of conquest"; "trenchant
          distinctions between right and wrong" [syn: {clear-cut}, {distinct}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  134 Moby Thesaurus words for "trenchant":
     acerb, acerbate, acerbic, acid, acidic, acidulent, acidulous,
     acrid, acrimonious, active, acute, aggressive, animated,
     apperceptive, appercipient, argute, asperous, astringent, astute,
     biting, bitter, brisk, caustic, clear-cut, cogent, corroding,
     corrosive, crisp, cutting, discerning, double-edged, driving,
     dynamic, edged, effective, energetic, enterprising, enthusiastic,
     escharotic, farseeing, farsighted, fierce, forceful, forcible,
     foreseeing, foresighted, forethoughted, forethoughtful,
     full of pep, go-go, gutsy, harsh, hearty, imperative, impetuous,
     impressive, incisive, ingoing, intense, irritating, keen, kinetic,
     lively, living, longheaded, longsighted, lusty, mettlesome,
     mordacious, mordant, nervous, nose-tickling, penetrating, peppy,
     perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, perspicuous, piercing,
     piquant, poignant, pointed, powerful, probing, provident, punchy,
     pungent, rigorous, robust, rough, sagacious, salty, sarcastic,
     sardonic, satiric, scalding, scathing, scorching, sensational,
     severe, sharp, sinewed, sinewy, slashing, smacking, snappy, sour,
     spanking, spirited, stabbing, stinging, strenuous, strident,
     striking, stringent, strong, take-charge, take-over, tart, telling,
     understanding, vehement, vibrant, vigorous, violent, virulent,
     vital, vitriolic, vivacious, vivid, withering, zestful, zesty,
     zippy