perspicacious

adjective

per·​spi·​ca·​cious ˌpər-spə-ˈkā-shəs 

: of acute mental vision or discernment : keen

perspicaciously adverb

perspicaciousness noun

perspicacity

ˌpər-spə-ˈka-sə-tē 

noun

Did you know?

Some perspective on perspicacious: the word combines the Latin perspicac- (from perspicax meaning “clear-sighted,” which in turn comes from perspicere, “to see through”) with the common English adjective suffix -ious. The result is a somewhat uncommon word used to describe someone (such as a reader or observer) or something (such as an essay or analysis) displaying the perception and understanding of subtleties others tend to miss, such as the distinctions between the words perspicacious, shrewd, sagacious, and astute—something our synonym chooser can help with.

Choose the Right Synonym for perspicacious

shrewd, sagacious, perspicacious, astute mean acute in perception and sound in judgment.

shrewd stresses practical, hardheaded cleverness and judgment.

a shrewd judge of character

sagacious suggests wisdom, penetration, and farsightedness.

sagacious investors got in on the ground floor

perspicacious implies unusual power to see through and understand what is puzzling or hidden.

a perspicacious counselor saw through the child's facade

astute suggests shrewdness, perspicacity, and diplomatic skill.

an astute player of party politics

Examples of perspicacious in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

If a new Bridgerton-sibling romance each season is the series’ gimmick, then Penelope has proven to be its soul—a vividly realistic protagonist whose perspicacious alter ego tethered each fairytale courtship to earth. —Judy Berman, TIME, 14 June 2024

More perspicacious than angry invective alone, that alchemy of tones has been her signature since the early ’90s, when a 20-something Hanna fronted Bikini Kill, the punk band that became the most visible act associated with the third-wave feminist movement known as riot grrrl. —TIME, 7 May 2024

One of the few perspicacious journalists of the Trump era, Graeme Wood, put it pithily: The Deep State is in the White House, and Trump appointed it. —Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 13 Dec. 2023

With the help of friends in the publishing world, Jaffrey’s draft landed in the hands of the perspicacious Knopf editor Judith Jones in 1971. —Mayukh Sen, Washington Post, 27 Nov. 2023

Photographs show Pym looking jolly and perspicacious, with charmingly crooked English teeth. —Thomas Mallon, The New Yorker, 30 May 2022

This particular Ferrari F50 was delivered new, in 1996, to Étienne Léandri, a defense lawyer and perspicacious Ferrari collector from Monaco. —Robert Ross, Robb Report, 7 Mar. 2022

As some of the nation’s most perspicacious observers have noted, self-regulation is a crucial component of fixing what’s wrong with social media. —Gilad Edelman, Wired, 30 Sep. 2021

Parker also knits in a perspicacious take on the toxicity of the royal family, most particularly the poisonous effect of the institution and the vulturous press. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 31 Aug. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Latin perspicac-, perspicax, from perspicere

First Known Use

1640, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

perspicacious

adjective

per·​spi·​ca·​cious ˌpər-spə-ˈkā-shəs 

: having or showing keen understanding

perspicaciously adverb

perspicacity

-ˈkas-ət-ē 

noun