perspicacious

as in wise
formal having or showing an ability to notice and understand things that are difficult or not obvious She considers herself a perspicacious judge of character. The critic made some perspicacious observations about the film.

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective perspicacious differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of perspicacious are astute, sagacious, and shrewd. While all these words mean "acute in perception and sound in judgment," perspicacious implies unusual power to see through and understand what is puzzling or hidden.

a perspicacious counselor saw through the child's facade

When is astute a more appropriate choice than perspicacious?

Although the words astute and perspicacious have much in common, astute suggests shrewdness, perspicacity, and diplomatic skill.

an astute player of party politics

In what contexts can sagacious take the place of perspicacious?

The synonyms sagacious and perspicacious are sometimes interchangeable, but sagacious suggests wisdom, penetration, and farsightedness.

sagacious investors got in on the ground floor

When could shrewd be used to replace perspicacious?

While in some cases nearly identical to perspicacious, shrewd stresses practical, hardheaded cleverness and judgment.

a shrewd judge of character

Examples Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of perspicacious 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perspicacious
Adjective
  • No one’s ever asked the kids up in the Grading The Week offices to help them with their taxes, but those wise apples sure know how to work a calculator.
    Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 9 Nov. 2024
  • Educating employees—especially those in finance roles—about the risks of fraudulent invoices and how to verify payment requests would be wise for organizations to prioritize in light of novel cyberattacks like this.
    Lars Daniel, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • In his mind, Wiley was a brilliant eccentric whose lifestyle seemed somehow exempt from social norms.
    Rachel Corbett, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2024
  • The series’ third, and final, season concluded in 2023 with a brilliant sendoff—and the whole series is available to watch now.
    Jennifer M. Wood, WIRED, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • Other clever design touches are everywhere, from plastic guyline clips made from a material that won’t crack even in temperatures as low as negative 60 Fahrenheit, to wraparound snowflaps that enable you to set the tent up without stakes in deep snow.
    Wes Siler, Outside Online, 6 Nov. 2024
  • The final twist is a clever one, especially for fans of the original Death Note manga.
    Joshua Kurp, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • These group dynamics and cooperation efforts are part of what makes meerkats so intelligent.
    Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 6 Nov. 2024
  • Companies are eager to tap into the productivity AI offers: ServiceNow, which provides end to-end intelligent workflow automation platform solutions for digital businesses has recently adopted AI agents, a move that has boosted subscription revenue by 23%.
    Nizan Geslevich Packin, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • That was a smart play, because his impact was necessary, not only in creating zone-coverage looks in the pass game, but also as a running back and pass catcher.
    Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
  • The company continues to focus on its strategy of providing energy and smart home solutions, supported by its recent acquisition of Vivint Smart Home (NRG).
    Quartz Bot, Quartz, 8 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • People who live in the home and have grown used to the set-up of a room may not notice these aspects, but a designer’s keen eyes can’t help but have tunnel-vision towards these things that either make a room special or stand out like a sore thumb.
    Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 3 Nov. 2024
  • This year’s fete, which took place between Oct. 24-Nov. 1 in the Egyptian resort town, welcomed keen audiences and key regional and international players as part of market platform CineGouna.
    Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 2 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • Its standout feature is its exceptional speed over USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 connections, providing quick file transfers, especially for large media files.
    Shubham Yewale, PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
  • But this election is close, almost impossibly so, because of some of the ways (good and bad) in which the United States remains exceptional.
    The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • With astute planning and policies, countries can survive and even thrive as their societies grow older.
    Vegard Skirbekk, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2024
  • Employers welcome candidates who have been astute enough to purposefully develop their communication, leadership and organizational skills to enable them to stay current in the face of working landscape changes like remote and asynchronous work.
    Al Kingsley, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

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Thesaurus Entries Near perspicacious

Cite this Entry

“Perspicacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perspicacious. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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