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.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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

Example 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 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 Forty-five years have passed since the late Professor Price coined his perspicacious term. IEEE Spectrum, 3 Nov. 2010
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perspicacious
Adjective
  • Documenting positive attributes such as community involvement, steady employment, family support, and other meaningful contributions is also a wise move.
    Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Only humans can weave meaning, create serendipity, and grow wiser through story.
    Big Think, Big Think, 9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was also the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year after a brilliant first season.
    Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
  • My time there was so brilliant.
    Matt Donnelly, Variety, 12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Hacking a pre-Internet console Making this amusing amalgam of past and present technology possible required some clever engineering.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
  • If so, its still a quick and clever method for styling a bun in a pinch.
    Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Ultimately, when used thoughtfully, AI can be not only a governance tool but also a catalyst for a more intelligent, inclusive and resilient corporate future.
    Michael Hilb, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Now there’s a new high-tech member of that team ready to weigh in on just what Ralph Lauren fashion is as Ask Ralph relaunches Tuesday as an artificially intelligent shopping experience on the brand’s app.
    Evan Clark, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • See our review The 2026 Hyundai Palisade is bigger and smarter, just don’t expect more power The six-figure 2025 Lexus LX Hybrid takes full-size luxury to new heights.
    Mark Phelan, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Portable smart tire pressure monitors screw onto the valve stem and connect to your phone, offering real-time updates and alerts for slow leaks.
    Melanie Marshall, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Many of the night’s attendees also were keen to meet Dolores Huerta, the 95-year-old icon who is known for her work in both the labor and feminist movements.
    Laurie Brookins, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Plenty of Republican senators, including Marsha Blackburn and Josh Hawley, are keen to pass regulation that mitigates AI harms.
    Andrew R. Chow, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The plane, equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, offers exceptional performance and durability.
    Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Understanding the mechanics behind these exceptional arms can also be applied to neuroscience and could lead to more robots inspired by these adaptable creatures.
    Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Instead of viewing this as a lack of ambition, astute employers will recognize it as a wake-up call about what motivates the future workforce in a post-social contract age.
    Cynthia Pong, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Whereas the former revealed the many ways in which the responsibility for keeping families and communities together falls on women (an observation that informs the new series as well), Ingelsby’s latest makes an astute study of guilt, revenge, and forgiveness.
    Judy Berman, Time, 28 Aug. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Perspicacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perspicacious. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on perspicacious

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!