sagacious
Americanadjective
-
having or showing acute mental discernment and keen practical sense; shrewd.
Socrates, that sagacious Greek philosopher, believed that the easiest way to learn was by asking questions.
- Synonyms:
- perspicacious, keen, sharp, acute, judicious, intelligent, clever, discerning, sage, wise
- Antonyms:
- unwise
-
Obsolete. having an acute sense of smell.
adjective
-
having or showing sagacity; wise
-
obsolete (of hounds) having an acute sense of smell
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sagacious
First recorded in 1600–10; sagaci(ty) + -ous
Explanation
Use the formal adjective sagacious to describe someone who is wise and insightful like an advisor to the president or a Supreme Court justice. Someone like an inspirational leader or an expert in a field who seeks knowledge and has foresight can be described as sagacious. If you comment on something at a deeper level, you are making a sagacious observation. The word is a descendent of Latin sagus "prophetic" and is related to the Old English word seek. Synonyms include discerning, insightful and another formal word perspicacious.
Vocabulary lists containing sagacious
"The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe
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Grade 11, List 5
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Leadership Vocabulary
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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.
Sagacious center Matt Birk is the glue that holds this front together.
From New York Times • Aug. 27, 2011
Sagacious Tony Richardson is a classic fullback and is entering his 16th season.
From New York Times • Jul. 26, 2010
Sagacious, this arrangement will keep out of the "flat" all tedious titled acquaintances, obstreperous suppliants, cranks.
From Time Magazine Archive
Sagacious, bold, and restless, he pushed his way from town to town, and pretended to have reached the mysterious mountains of Appalachee.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 70, August, 1863 by Various
Sagacious to view into the remotest consequences of things, by which all difficulties fly before him.
From The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. — Volume 09 Contributions to The Tatler, The Examiner, The Spectator, and The Intelligencer by Swift, Jonathan
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.
