poignance
Sweet sadness felt
Poignance is the quality of evoking a sharp, bittersweet emotion—sadness tinged with tenderness or nostalgia.
A photograph of a deceased parent has poignance; so does revisiting childhood places now changed.
The word captures feelings that are moving without being merely sad: the poignance of watching her daughter leave for college.
Also spelled poignancy.
Subdued, lasting sadness
- nostalgiaLonging for the past
- wistfulnessTender sadness for absence
- yearningIntense prolonged craving
- longingIntense, persistent desire
regret · sentimental · pensive · reflective · heartrending · touching · mournful · doleful
Deep emotional distress
- griefIntense sorrow from loss
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- pathosPity-evoking quality
touching · moving · stirring · affecting · emotive · heartfelt · tearful · plaintive
Concern for others' distress
- tendernessGentle, caring quality
- vulnerabilityOpenness to harm
- sympathyCompassionate understanding of others
- sensitivityResponsiveness to stimuli
gentleness · warmth · understanding · delicacy · resonance · connection · identification · fellow-feeling
melancholy
Subdued, lasting sadness
- nostalgiaLonging for the past
- wistfulnessTender sadness for absence
- yearningIntense prolonged craving
longing · regret · sentimental · pensive · reflective · heartrending · touching · mournful · doleful · lament
heartache
Deep emotional distress
pathos · touching · moving · stirring · affecting · emotive · heartfelt · tearful · plaintive · elegiac
compassion
Concern for others' distress
- tendernessGentle, caring quality
- vulnerabilityOpenness to harm
- sympathyCompassionate understanding of others
sensitivity · gentleness · warmth · understanding · delicacy · resonance · connection · identification · fellow-feeling · humanness
piercing
Penetrating or very sharp
penetrating · cutting · raw · visceral · profound · deep · overwhelming · arresting · striking · gripping
poignancenumbness
Loss of sensation
indifference · apathy · dullness · detachment · blandness
poignancebanality
Tiresome lack of originality
triviality · vapidity · blandness · insipidness · mundaneness
- poignant storytellingEmotionally stirring narrative craft