aperçu
Americannoun
plural
aperçus-
a hasty glance; a glimpse.
-
an immediate estimate or judgment; perception; insight.
-
an outline or summary.
noun
-
an outline; summary
-
an insight
Etymology
Origin of aperçu
First recorded in 1825–30; from French: literally, “perceived”; past participle of the verb apercevoir
Explanation
An apercu is a brief, clever review or summation of something. If your synopsis of last week's episode of your favorite TV show is funny and sharp, you can call it an apercu. Sometimes an apercu is simply a witty comment or a clever anecdote: "He is so fun at parties because he always comes up with such brilliant apercus." The word is often spelled with a cedilla, a French accent that softens the C so that it's pronounced like an S: aperçu. The word is from the French apercevoir, "to perceive."
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.
One such aperçu involved his interrogation of the phrase “unapologetically Black,” with him saying, “I am not unapologetically anything, because when I say that I have already apologized.”
From New York Times • Mar. 20, 2023
I guess we could fault Caleb for this aperçu, but in a novel that purports to be about the slippery idea of authorship, let’s blame Lipstein.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 18, 2022
“It’s an aperçu of Alex Trebek, human being. What is he like? What has he done? How did he screw up? Things like that.”
From Slate • Jul. 22, 2020
James Hayward doesn't mention Muggeridge's aperçu in this account of the career of Arthur Owens, billed as Hitler's chief spy in England and code-named Snow.
From The Guardian • Jan. 4, 2013
The word aperçu my father used to object to.
From The Life and Letters of Maria Edgeworth, Volume 1 by Hare, Augustus J. C.
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.
