pungency

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
pungent/ˈpʌnʤənt/

▶adjective

• 1 having a sharply strong taste or smell.

• 2 (of remarks or humour) sharp and caustic.

– derivatives
pungency noun,
pungently adverb.

– origin C16 (in the sense ‘very painful’): from L. pungent-, pungere ‘prick’.