perspicacious
Americanadjective
-
having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning.
to exhibit perspicacious judgment.
- Synonyms:
- penetrating, shrewd, acute, perceptive
-
Archaic. having keen vision.
adjective
-
acutely perceptive or discerning
-
archaic having keen eyesight
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of perspicacious
First recorded in 1610–20; perspicaci(ty) + -ous
Explanation
Perspicacious is an adjective that means "shrewd" and "wise." A perspicacious child can't be fooled when her parents try to keep a secret by talking in Pig Latin. The adjective perspicacious is a long word for a short definition: "keen" or "shrewd." This word is descended from the Latin word perspicere, which means "to look closely." In other words, if you look closely at something you are paying attention to it and know it well. A definition of perspicacious that is out of date but still relevant is "having keen eyesight" and people who can see clearly are also aware and attentive!
Vocabulary lists containing perspicacious
Common Senses: Spec, Spect, Spic ("Look")
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Leadership Vocabulary
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"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 15
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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.
“A perspicacious analyst might wonder whether talk of inflation, recession and other factors would fructify in a slower spending growth,” Moynihan said in an analyst call in 2022.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Sam Bagenstos: You don’t have to be particularly perspicacious to be cynical here.
From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026
Crewe is perspicacious about marriage and other partnerships, the rituals couples employ, for good and ill.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 29, 2022
Smith has proven one of the most even-handed, perspicacious and insightful film critics out there.
From Fox News ● Dec. 31, 2019
By then she had performed unfalteringly under the twins’ perspicacious scrutiny and had confounded all their expectations.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
