sassy

¹ American  

[sas-ee] / ˈsæs i /

adjective

Informal.

sassier, comparative sassiest superlative

1. disrespectful or impudent; impertinent; insolent.

   Don't get sassy with me!

2. boldly stylish and smart; pert.

   a sassy red handbag.

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sassy ² American  

[sas-ee] / ˈsæs i /

noun

1. sassy bark.

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sassy ¹ British  

/ ˈsæsˌwʊd, ˈsæsɪ /

noun

1. a W African leguminous tree, Erythrophleum guineense, with poisonous bark ( sassy bark ) and hard strong wood

2. the bark or wood of this tree or the alkaloid derived from them, which is sometimes used in medicine

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sassy ² British  

/ ˈsæsɪ /

adjective

1. informal insolent, impertinent

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sassiness
  noun
• sassily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• sassier
  comparative
• sassiest
  superlative

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sassy sassier sassiest

“She had a very sassy attitude, and she had her hand on her hip and her head back with the hair flowing. I was like, ‘Yeah, I can do that.’

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Viral baby elephant Linh Mai is apparently pretty sassy.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 16, 2026

Or, when the bot feels sassy: “Not X. Not Y. But Z.”

From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026

Insider info: The actress Tânia Maria—who plays the sassy woman who takes in Moura’s character—has become such a phenomenon in Brazil since the film’s release she’s doing Heineken and Burger King ads.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026

No matter how sassy I am, Ben and Sabeen don’t mind.

From "Towers Falling" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Both of us queer the Edgar, unhitching it from Mexican masculinity and its misogynist impulses, appropriating it so that it takes on a fresher and sassier meaning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2023

And my mom has gotten really sassy, way sassier over the past few years.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 10, 2021

For British contestants, likely weaned on the screaming matches and snogs of “Big Brother” and “The Only Way Is Essex,” the precedent is to be sassier, unbridled, more candid.

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 10, 2019

An all-black suit looked sassier on The Big Bang Theory’s Johnny Galecki thanks to his sparkly lapels.

From Slate ● Jan. 7, 2019

“They’re getting sassier every day,” she said loudly.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin

"My goal when I put on the music is let me do the coolest shapes in the sassiest of ways," she says.

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

Then, after she and Cindy Williams guested on a scene-stealing 1975 episode of "Happy Days," their characters were spun off to become mid century Milwaukee's sassiest brewery workers, "Laverne & Shirley."

From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2018

And then there’s Jen Sincero, the sassiest of them all.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 19, 2016

One of the new album's sassiest tracks, "Blank Space," was sparked by what was being written about her in the tabloids.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2014

William bore himself tolerably well, until he was told that he knew as much about baseball as a hog's foot, and was, without doubt, the sassiest "four-flusher" in the city of Toronto.

From William Adolphus Turnpike by Banks, William