sassy
1 Americanadjective
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sassier,
comparative
-
sassiest
superlative
-
disrespectful or impudent; impertinent; insolent.
Don't get sassy with me!
-
boldly stylish and smart; pert.
a sassy red handbag.
noun
noun
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a W African leguminous tree, Erythrophleum guineense, with poisonous bark ( sassy bark ) and hard strong wood
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the bark or wood of this tree or the alkaloid derived from them, which is sometimes used in medicine
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
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.
See Examples For:
A trio of nerdy Frenchmen came to New York to build a sassy chatbot for teens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
“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
The girl band first made a mark with their 2022 debut single, Cardboard Box, which showcased their smooth group harmonies and sassy lyricism.
From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2026
No doubt Aunt Loma marveled, too, because she didn’t say anything sassy back.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Modifying weights can make a model more polite, sassier or more prone to hallucination.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Neumeier is sassier with Bernstein, more stylized with Bach; in “Passion” his dancers, dressed in pristine white, create pictures of elegantly considered classical movement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2022
I saw skyscrapers in the distance and heard mention of a twin — a sparklier, sassier, busier, bigger city slightly to the west.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 9, 2019
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
“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
De very night de jedge was shot, dat chile wrote her paw de sassiest letter, sayin' she gwine run off and git married wif dat sick boy, Carter Nelson.
From Sandy by Alice Caldwell Hegan Rice
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.
