PIQUE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pique mean? 

• PIQUE (noun)
  The noun PIQUE has 2 senses:

1. tightly woven fabric with raised cords

2. a sudden outburst of anger

  Familiarity information: PIQUE used as a noun is rare.

• PIQUE (verb)
  The verb PIQUE has 1 sense:

1. cause to feel resentment or indignation

  Familiarity information: PIQUE used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PIQUE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Tightly woven fabric with raised cords

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pique" is a kind of...):

cloth; fabric; material; textile (artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A sudden outburst of anger

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

irritation; pique; temper

Context example:

his temper sparked like damp firewood

Hypernyms ("pique" is a kind of...):

annoyance; chafe; vexation (anger produced by some annoying irritation)

Derivation:

pique (cause to feel resentment or indignation)

• PIQUE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they pique    ... he / she / it piques   
Past simple: piqued   
Past participle: piqued   
-ing form: piquing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause to feel resentment or indignation

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

offend; pique

Context example:

Her tactless remark offended me

Hypernyms (to "pique" is one way to...):

anger (make angry)

Cause:

resent (feel bitter or indignant about)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to pique Sue

Derivation:

pique (a sudden outburst of anger)

 Context examples 

Pride, observed Mary, who piqued herself upon the solidity of her reflections, is a very common failing, I believe.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

I was thinking, sir, that very few masters would trouble themselves to inquire whether or not their paid subordinates were piqued and hurt by their orders.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Sallie Gardiner was absorbed in keeping her white pique dress clean and chattering with the ubiquitous Fred, who kept Beth in constant terror by his pranks.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

This seemed to pique general curiosity, and quite a number of people began to run.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Lady Middleton piqued herself upon the elegance of her table, and of all her domestic arrangements; and from this kind of vanity was her greatest enjoyment in any of their parties.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

During his present short stay, Emma had barely seen him; but just enough to feel that the first meeting was over, and to give her the impression of his not being improved by the mixture of pique and pretension, now spread over his air.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Her relatives encouraged me; competitors piqued me; she allured me: a marriage was achieved almost before I knew where I was.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Watch yourself, be the first to ask pardon if you both err, and guard against the little piques, misunderstandings, and hasty words that often pave the way for bitter sorrow and regret.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

'Tis because you are an indifferent person, said Lucy, with some pique, and laying a particular stress on those words, that your judgment might justly have such weight with me. If you could be supposed to be biased in any respect by your own feelings, your opinion would not be worth having.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

"No; that does not satisfy me!" I exclaimed: and indeed there was something in the hasty and unexplanatory reply which, instead of allaying, piqued my curiosity more than ever.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)