sapient

American  

[sey-pee-uhnt] / ˈseɪ pi ənt /

adjective

1. having or showing great wisdom or sound judgment.

2. having or showing self-awareness.

   sapient life forms.

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sapient British  

/ ˈseɪpɪənt /

adjective

1. ironic wise or sagacious

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Other Word Forms

• sapience noun
• sapiency noun
• sapiently adverb
• unsapient adjective
• unsapiently adverb

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; -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.

Example Sentences

In the game, she says, all of the human characters have different ideas about how sapient AIs are, and how they should be treated.

From The Verge • Feb. 1, 2019

Aphra says things like: well, eventually humanity’s going to be extinct and there will be a race of sapient beetle people living here instead, so really my problems aren’t all that important.

From The Verge • Sep. 15, 2017

Some “filter” may winnow the number of sapient races, low enough to explain our apparent isolation.

From Salon • Jun. 17, 2012

Well, there are still plenty of ways that some promising sapient species might rise up, looking skyward with high hopes, and yet — even so — fail to achieve its potential.

From Salon • Jun. 17, 2012

There the story was repeated, and various sapient suggestions were thrown out by Kinvig.

From She's All the World to Me by Caine, Hall, Sir