sapient
Americanadjective
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having or showing great wisdom or sound judgment.
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having or showing self-awareness.
sapient life forms.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of sapient
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English sapyent, from Latin sapient- (stem of sapiēns, present participle of sapere “to be wise,” literally, “to taste, have taste”), equivalent to sapi- verb stem + -ent- adjective suffix; see -ent
Explanation
Use the adjective sapient to describe someone who always gives the smartest advice, like your brilliant, insightful teacher or your wise little brother. Calling someone sapient is a compliment, since it means "insightful and wise," although it's often used in a sarcastic way: "My sapient adviser said I should major in Communications." The phrase "sapient life forms" shows up frequently in science fiction, as well. The Latin root is the verb sapere, "to be wise," which is also the origin of sapiens, "wise man," as in Homo sapiens, or the human species.
Vocabulary lists containing sapient
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In a call with analysts in February, Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun called Sapient a strategic asset for the group in the context of AI.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
Sapient has historically focused on solving complex technical problems for other companies, rather than on taking on outsourced work to lower clients’ costs, Vaz said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
"As ever, Amazon's real strength comes from the breadth of its ecosystem," said Julian Skelly, managing partner at digital consultancy Publicis Sapient, Europe.
From BBC • Aug. 3, 2023
Its digital and data-driven businesses Epsilon and Sapient, the former of which was acquired in 2019, had organic growth of 12% and 19%, respectively, in 2022.
From Reuters • Feb. 2, 2023
Sapient Cynfelyn, this was thy summing; "Prudence is Man's surest guide, by my dooming."
From A Celtic Psaltery by Graves, Alfred Perceval
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
