sassy
1 Americanadjective
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disrespectful or impudent; impertinent; insolent.
Don't get sassy with me!
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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
-
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.
But when a WSJ reporter visited Anne Kilgore's house that evening, she said that Miss Sassy, who went missing in August, had since reappeared in her basement.
From Salon • Sep. 18, 2024
Sassy Wyatt lives in Luton and runs Blind Girl Adventures, an accessible tourism consultancy.
From BBC • Jul. 21, 2023
Hallyu classic "My Sassy Girl" shows the leads meeting at a train station en route to their respective appointments.
From Salon • Jul. 15, 2023
And let us not forget that Sassy shared a premonition with Rebecca — a warmth in the belly — right before Rebecca tumbled.
From New York Times • Apr. 19, 2023
I went to live in Cold Sassy with my brother’s fam’ly and got the mail route.”
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
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.
