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

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 The 'perspicacious' Marvin Harrison Jr., and what that means for the Cardinals Like the former Ohio State star, Devin, 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, also was a receiver. Doug Haller, The Athletic, 29 July 2024 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perspicacious
Adjective
  • The decision to put Kreider in over Kyle Connor, who has 30 goals this year, did not end up looking like a wise one.
    Arthur Staple, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
  • Plunkett is not the first critic to trouble the popular conception of Frost as a wise woodsman dispensing comfort and inspiration.
    Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The Spaniard scored a header to give the Gunners the lead, then six minutes later, finished off a brilliant counter-attacking move to seal the victory.
    Sam Tighe, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
  • Using a combination of many brilliant innovations, and among other accomplishments, DeepSeek was able to reduce the cost of inference or thinking by a substantial amount.
    Philip Maymin, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • More News: William Byron Just Pulled Off a Daytona 500 Feat Only Four Others Have Speaking about the incident in an interview, Byron seemed amused by the clever digital jest.
    Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 22 Feb. 2025
  • When a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord attacks seeking vengeance for the death of his father, Helm’s daughter Héra must summon the will to lead the resistance or face total destruction.
    Denise Petski, Deadline, 21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The application can generate unit test cases, propose intelligent code fixes and answer some coding queries, including refactoring.
    Bankim Chandra, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025
  • Any edge comes from their regular scene partners: Wilson’s believably unpleasant demeanor, Bratt’s vulnerable charm, Scott’s lo-fi depression and, most appealingly, Driver’s intelligent wariness.
    Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • No cable required: Stream from your smart TV, laptop, or mobile device.
    Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 21 Feb. 2025
  • Installation and Performance: Simple and Satisfactory As with most smart thermostats, the Commercial Electric model is easy to install, but doing so involves working with low-voltage wiring.
    PCMAG, PCMAG, 21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Rosanna Fiedler, founder of the one-year-old brand Wyld Box Jewelry, creates adornments with the artistry of a sculptor and the vision of a keen vintage jewelry connoisseur.
    Kyle Roderick, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
  • As a keen music lover, Lowson decided to sing for the residents using the nursing home's karaoke kit.
    David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Tilda Swinton, 'Michael Clayton' (2008) Swinton and George Clooney make exceptional adversaries in the engrossing legal thriller.
    Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2025
  • The report found the company to be exceptional, with quibbles so minor that explaining them here would require a crash course in the dense lexicon of climate reporting.
    Justin Worland, TIME, 25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Both companies are dominant in their industries and feature very strong, astute leadership.
    StockStory Team, CNBC, 22 Feb. 2025
  • The financially astute among you (which is all of you, dear readers) will have spotted that a $599 phone being paid off at $5.99 a month should take 100 months, right?
    David Phelan, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Perspicacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perspicacious. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.

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