Word a Day
trenchant
What does trenchant mean?
trenchant (adjective): having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought, expression, or intellect.
Definition: Princeton WordNet 3.1.
How do you use trenchant in a sentence?
- Trenchant criticism. (Princeton WordNet 3.1)
How do you pronounce trenchant?
/ˈtɹɛntʃənt/ (IPA, American English). The app reads every word aloud.
Where does trenchant come from?
Borrowed into Middle English from Old French trenchant, the present participle of trenchier (“to cut”).
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Test yourself: do you know “trenchant”?
Tap an answer to check it. The same questions the app asks.
What does “trenchant” mean?
loosely associated; of limited relevance except indirectly; only accidentally related
Not quite: that's what incidental means.
humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness
Not quite: that's what meek means.
precisely and clearly expressed or readily observable; leaving nothing to implication
Not quite: that's what explicit means.
having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought, expression, or intellect
Right! That's what “trenchant” means.
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