Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PIQUE
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pronounce
PIQUE:
Say it "PEEK."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Our word pique traces back to the Middle French piquer, meaning "to pierce, or to puncture."
See if you can recall a closely related word that means "pleasantly sharp," as in "a piqu___ cheese" and "his piqu___ humor."
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
Today, the word "pique" has two distinct meanings that we often use. (We won't bother with the others, since they're rare.)
First, pique is a feeling of anger or strong annoyance, especially because someone has hurt your sense of pride.
Second, to pique someone's interest, or to pique someone's curiosity, is to spark it or excite it, as if by poking it.
Either way, you can see how the basic idea is poking or pricking someone, figuratively.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
"Pique" meaning "a feeling of irritation" is a noun, the uncountable kind: "his pique," "her pique," "it drew their pique."
"Pique" meaning "to inspire (interest or curiosity)" is a verb: "it piqued my interest," "she piqued his curiosity."
Other forms:
Piqued, piquing.
how to use it:
This fun little word is often heard and easily understood.
To use it as a noun, talk about someone's pique, or someone's fit of pique. "The poll results attracted his pique." "The insult drew her pique." "In a fit of pique, they broke up, again."
To use it as a verb, talk about people, comments, actions, decisions, and events that pique someone's interest, or that pique someone's curiosity.
examples:
The staff's pique was obvious. Here's how they started the email: "It has come to our attention that some of you are having trouble finding the applications, which have been posted on the main page of our website all year."
"I read that emperors and other members of the privileged class in China had been employing acupuncturists to enhance the youth and beauty of their concubines as far back as 960 A.D. It was the only anti-aging therapy I found that had such a rich history. It piqued my curiosity—and my interest."
— Shellie Goldstein, Your Best Face Now, 2012
has this page helped you understand "pique"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "pique," the noun, without saying "annoyance" or "umbrage."
And, explain the meaning of "pique," the verb, without saying "stimulate" or "kindle."
try it out:
Think of something you love that many others don't. What's one part of it that's especially good--good enough to appeal to people who don't generally like it?
Fill in the blanks: "_____ (has some great quality) and may pique your interest yet in _____."
Example 1: "'Darmok'--Season 5, Episode 2--is especially fascinating and may pique your interest yet in Star Trek."
Example 2: "If you scoff at country, you'll probably always scoff at country, but this spread of songs [nominated for Grammy awards] shows off the admirable breadth of the genre and may pique your interest yet."
— Ben Beaumont-Thomas, The Guardian, 24 January 2020
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game this month is "Polygon of Predestination!"
With a high five to TheWordFinder.com for its puzzle generator, I'm Pat-Sajacking that spin-the-wheel game from TV. Apply your alliterative acumen to solve the puzzle. The category all month long is: "Beastly Blunders and Criminal Capers."
From the previous issue:
I couldn't nail down the origin of the phrase for this type of theft, but I did find some fun facts. In German, dining and dashing is known as Zechprellerei--which happens to translate alliteratively to "bill bouncing." And in English, according to Wikipedia, other names for this crime abound, including "dine and ditch," "bite and bolt," and my new favorite, "eat it and beat it."
Try this one today:
Not sure yet? Need to see a bit more? Click here.
review this word:
A. HOPE and FEAR.
B. JOY and EXTINGUISH.
C. EXCITEMENT and DEGRADE.
2. His curiosity piqued, he _____.
A. closed the book in satisfaction
B. snagged three more nearby books
C. begrudgingly flipped the book open
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Our word pique traces back to the Middle French piquer, meaning "to pierce, or to puncture."
Today, the word "pique" has two distinct meanings that we often use. (We won't bother with the others, since they're rare.)
Part of speech:
This fun little word is often heard and easily understood.
The staff's pique was obvious. Here's how they started the email: "It has come to our attention that some of you are having trouble finding the applications, which have been posted on the main page of our website all year."
Explain the meaning of "pique," the noun, without saying "annoyance" or "umbrage."
Think of something you love that many others don't. What's one part of it that's especially good--good enough to appeal to people who don't generally like it?
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
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