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
-
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:
She added: "This is the role of a lifetime... Thank you for trusting this Lancashire lass to play a sassy broad like Patricia."
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
A cover version of Chuck Berry’s “Back in the U.S.A.” is sassy, but rather than deliver the song as a driving rocker, Mr. Richman strikes a more casual tone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
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
I don’t remember what exactly because I was only four, but knowing Mom, it was funny and sweet and sassy.
From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick
Modifying weights can make a model more polite, sassier or more prone to hallucination.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
One of the sassier stars of “Love & Hip-Hop Atlanta” decamps to the Sunshine State in the new reality series “Joseline’s Cabaret: Miami.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2021
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
“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
Tom wins with his "shrimp cocktail my way," which he explains after giving the sassiest facial expression for no discernable reason.
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2023
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
"Are you the conductor of this car?" she snapped, "Because if you be, you're the sassiest conductor that ever I see!"
From The Story of Cooperstown by Ralph Birdsall
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
