wiseacre

noun

wise·acre ˈwīz-ˌā-kər

Synonyms of wiseacre

: one who pretends to knowledge or cleverness

especially : smart aleck

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Wiseacre Has Old English Roots

Given the spelling and definition of wiseacre, you might guess that the word derives from the sense of wise meaning "insolent" or "fresh"—the sense that also gives us wise guy, wisecrack, and wisenheimer. But, in fact, wiseacre came to English by a different route: it is derived from the Middle Dutch wijssegger, meaning "soothsayer." Wiseacre first appeared in English way back in the 16th century, while the "insolent" sense of wise and the words formed from it are products of the 19th century. The etymologies of wiseacre and wise are not completely distinct, however; the ancestors of wiseacre are loosely tied to the same Old English root that gave us wise.

Examples of wiseacre in a Sentence

Quit being such a wiseacre and help your mother. a loudmouthed wiseacre who thinks he is more amusing than he really is

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Similarly, the Pink Ladies, a popular clique headed by Rizzo (Stockard Channing), deliver their wiseacre lines with a fair dose of irony. —Vogue, 10 Sep. 2024 Mark Kelly The boat, the train and the paradigm shift were all missed by Apple, according to the wiseacres. —Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 6 June 2023