sagacious

American  

[suh-gey-shuhs] / səˈgeɪ ʃəs /

adjective

1. having or showing acute mental discernment and keen practical sense; shrewd.

   Socrates, that sagacious Greek philosopher, believed that the easiest way to learn was by asking questions.

   Synonyms:

   perspicacious, keen, sharp, acute, judicious, intelligent, clever, discerning, sage, wise

   Antonyms:

   unwise

2. Obsolete. having an acute sense of smell.

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sagacious British  

/ səˈɡeɪʃəs /

adjective

1. having or showing sagacity; wise

2. obsolete (of hounds) having an acute sense of smell

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Other Word Forms

• quasi-sagacious adjective
• quasi-sagaciously adverb
• sagaciously adverb
• sagaciousness noun
• supersagacious adjective
• supersagaciously adverb
• supersagaciousness noun
• unsagacious adjective
• unsagaciously adverb
• unsagaciousness noun

Etymology

Origin of sagacious

First recorded in 1600–10; sagaci(ty) + -ous

Example Sentences

Not many countries are often blessed with as sagacious a leader as Mariano, but many a family and institution will, through him, be reminded of the worth of such august figures.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

“Even at an early age, Charlie showed sagacious negotiating ability, and usually gained a bigger specimen or one with unusual coloring,” Broggie wrote.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 28, 2023

And not a sagacious orchestral adaptation of swing — as in Adams’s “City Noir” — but the genuine article.

From New York Times • Jun. 29, 2023

So the midfielder was inserted alongside 18-year-old Ricardo Pepi and 20-year-olds Brenden Aaronson and Sergiño Dest in an American lineup captained by Tyler Adams, a sagacious 22-year-old.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 8, 2021

But Burr’s entire life had been a sermon on the capacity of the sagacious spider to lift himself out of hellish difficulties and spin webs that trapped others.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis