Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for trenchant. Search instead for trenchantly.
Synonyms

trenchant

American  
[tren-chuhnt] / ˈtrɛn tʃənt /

adjective

  1. incisive or keen, as language or a person; caustic; cutting.

    trenchant wit.
    Synonyms:
    acute, biting, sharp

  2. vigorous; effective; energetic.

    a trenchant policy of political reform.

  3. clearly or sharply defined; clear-cut; distinct.

trenchant British  
/ ˈtrɛntʃənt /

adjective

  1. keen or incisive

    trenchant criticism

  2. vigorous and effective

    a trenchant foreign policy

  3. distinctly defined

    a trenchant outline

  4. archaic sharp

    a trenchant sword
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • trenchancy noun
  • trenchantly adverb

Etymology

Origin of trenchant

1275–1325; Middle English tranchaunt < Anglo-French; Old French trenchant, present participle of trenchier to cut. See trench, -ant

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.