punchy
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: punchier
form: punchiest
Etymology: From punch + -y.
Senses: examples: text: Best cuts: "The Evil Dude," "Kung Fu, Too!" "Mama Love," "New Orleans" (with a punchy vocal by Teresa Brewer).
ref: 1975, Billboard, volume 87, number 24, page 50:
text: Some of the punchiest passages in "The Lady and the Panda" are quotations from Harkness's own writing.
ref: 2005 August 15, Pamela Paul, “The Lady and the Panda”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 25 Jan 2023:
text: Malcolm’s tighter, punchier rhythm tone is consistent with the use of any of these big 100-watters (a Marshall Super Bass would be particularly bold in this department), and this was clearly another key ingredient—partnered with his Filter’Tron-loaded Gretsch—in the unparalleled chunk of the AC/DC rhythm assault.
ref: 2010, Phil Sutcliffe, AC/DC: High-Voltage Rock ’n’ Roll: The Ultimate Illustrated History, Voyageur Press, published 2011, →ISBN, page 23, column 1:
text: It’s a really great experience: Keys feel punchy with a not too loud clicking and clacking, along with a nice feel when actually pushing the key.
ref: 2020 March 20, Jacob Krol, “Apple’s MacBook Air makes a good first impression with strong performance and punchy keys”, in CNN:
text: The show had a considerable footprint on YouTube, but Piker helped it adapt to punchier formats that were better suited to Facebook and Instagram.
ref: 2025 March 17, Andrew Marantz, “The Battle for the Bros”, in The New Yorker, →ISSN, archived from the original on 18 Mar 2025:
hyponyms: catchy
glosses: Having a punch; effective; forceful; spirited; vigorous.
examples: text: Apart from the problemette with the punchy bits, I've got only one reservation with the game and that's that the tie-in element is a bit shaky to say the least.
ref: 1992, Jonny Quest (video game review) in Your Sinclair (issue 75, page 16)
text: Francine leans down and her body tenses, shoulders reddening as she makes a sharp, punchy gesture. It doesn't look like a couple in love.
ref: 2021, Chandler Baker, The Husbands:
glosses: Involving or resembling a punch with the fist.
examples: text: Even with his punchy face, Roman nose and big ears, Jack Drawbaugh will command most of the attention for the 1-14-mile marathon route tomorrow at Sunland Park.
ref: 1978 October 18, “Ugly gelding sitting pretty for Sunland marathon”, in El Paso Herald-Post, volume CI, number 27, El Paso, Tex., →ISSN, →OCLC, page B-3, column 2:
text: I've always hated Robbie Williams downright stupid face, Hopefully the Gallaghers will break his legs aswell.
ref: 2000 March 2, Harry 'snapper' Organs, “punchy face”, in alt.music.oasis (Usenet), archived from the original on 16 Sep 2025:
text: Punchy face Marty and dickless Rathbun are toast in all areas but a few freezone type dim wits who think Elrongs^([sic]) story about his almost gettinr^([sic]) run over by a train on Venus was really hot, The cult is over, but its criminal empire will go on for a while yet..
ref: 2009 September 20, phil scott, “Rathbun expresses solidarity with Rinder”, in alt.religion.scientology (Usenet), archived from the original on 16 Sep 2025:
glosses: Punchable; punchworthy.
examples: text: I was so sleep-deprived I was starting to get punchy.
text: “It has been weeks since any of us have had even a moment of slumber.” “It's actually been only, like, 14 hours, but they get a little punchy when they don't get their sleep.”
ref: 2021 September 16, Sarah Naftalis, “The Casino” (13:58 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 3, episode 1, spoken by Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch):
glosses: Behaving or appearing punch-drunk, reacting poorly.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
skiing
sports
glosses: Of groomed snow: unable to support the weight of a skier, especially when the skier’s weight is all on one ski, resulting in a ski punching through the surface of the snow.
Derived terms: punchily
punchiness