sassy
1 Americanadjective
-
disrespectful or impudent; impertinent; insolent.
Don't get sassy with me!
-
boldly stylish and smart; pert.
a sassy red handbag.
noun
noun
-
a W African leguminous tree, Erythrophleum guineense, with poisonous bark ( sassy bark ) and hard strong wood
-
the bark or wood of this tree or the alkaloid derived from them, which is sometimes used in medicine
adjective
Other Word Forms
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.
Viral baby elephant Linh Mai is apparently pretty sassy.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 16, 2026
A.I. can be sassy, but it cannot write the tenderness of a high school drama club.
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
When she is at home, Fahima said her daughter is "very sassy, very loud, loves singing and dancing", with a love of music, Disney films and arts and crafts.
From BBC • Dec. 13, 2025
I wanted to have meaningful conversations with my grandma and aunts that captured my sassy humor and penchant for sarcasm, but I couldn't communicate much beyond the usual Farsi phrases: "Delam yekzareh shodeh."
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
