Peak vs. Peek vs. Pique

All three of these words have the same pronunciation. The first two (peak and peek) should be fairly easy to distinguish from each other; the last one tends to cause problems because many people are unfamiliar with its written form. Pique means “to stimulate, arouse, excite” or “to annoy.” Thus, something that is stimulating or provocative is piquant. Think of the picador in a bullfight, the man who jabs the bull with a lance. (Or don’t think about that, because it’s extremely cruel.)

an advertisement that peaked my interest
an advertisement that piqued my interest

piqued by his constant disobedience