sassy
1 Americanadjective
-
disrespectful or impudent; impertinent; insolent.
Don't get sassy with me!
-
boldly stylish and smart; pert.
a sassy red handbag.
noun
noun
-
a W African leguminous tree, Erythrophleum guineense, with poisonous bark ( sassy bark ) and hard strong wood
-
the bark or wood of this tree or the alkaloid derived from them, which is sometimes used in medicine
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sassy1
An Americanism dating back to 1830–1835; alteration of saucy
Origin of sassy2
First recorded in 1855–60; of uncertain origin
Explanation
Sassy means "bold or fresh." If you see your teacher in the grocery store with her attractive, well-dressed husband and you charge right over to say, "Who's the hunk?" that's being very sassy. Sassy comes from saucy, as in: bold, spicy, and impertinent. It's fun to be sassy when talking with friends, but when you start saying things to teachers, bosses, and other people's parents that would embarrass a more timid or manners-minded person, you probably have crossed the line from sassy to inappropriate. The same goes for sassy dressers — you have to know when to leave the neon heels at home.
Vocabulary lists containing sassy
The House on Mango Street
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"Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou
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Our Town
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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.
Sassy, provocative African-made dramas could be key to potentially one of the biggest streaming markets in the world - and one new show is proving the point.
From BBC • Mar. 12, 2024
Inyeon as powerful as the one in "My Sassy Girl" was always what brought lovers back together.
From Salon • Jul. 15, 2023
In the play, Sassy, Sampson’s narrator, claims to have heard the truth through the grapevine.
From New York Times • Jun. 2, 2023
“She didn’t know the verse, so I said, ‘Well, you better go back to your bus and learn it if you’re gonna work with me, Miss Sassy Britches,’” Judd says.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2022
Why cain’t you jest lay out in some a-them woods around Cold Sassy a few days, or come out here?”
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
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.
