wiseacre
Americannoun
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a person who wishes to seem wise
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a wise person: often used facetiously or contemptuously
Etymology
Origin of wiseacre
1585–95; < Middle Dutch wijssager prophet, translation of Middle High German wīssage, late Old High German wīssago, by popular etymology equivalent to wīs wise + sago sayer, from earlier wīzzago wise person; cognate with Old English wītega, akin to wit 2
Explanation
Use the noun wiseacre when you need an old-fashioned way to talk about a smarty pants. Your grandfather might refer to your smart mouthed, know-it-all little brother as a wiseacre. Wiseacre and all of its synonyms carry an informal air about them, perhaps suggesting that we don't want to formalize the idea of a smart aleck. Wiseacre comes from Dutch wijssegger, which means "soothsayer." The wise bit is in fact related to wise. The acre part — well, as one dictionary puts it, "the assimilation to acre remains unexplained."
Vocabulary lists containing wiseacre
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.
Watching it now reveals an altogether different Fallon, more sarcastic wiseacre than chipper enthusiast.
From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2023
Some wiseacre in Millbury, Mass., celebrated the Patriots’ Super Bowl triumph over the Rams by replacing the sign for Goff Street with a Brady Street version.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 8, 2019
Aaron Sorkin has his screwball David Mamet patter, Joss Whedon his wiseacre teams of lovable rapscallions, Diablo Cody her antic cleverness disguising roiling anguish, and so on.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2018
Salinger from young wiseacre to world-celebrated author and notorious recluse is absorbingly traced in Danny Strong’s “Rebel in the Rye.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2017
He was acting so different, all glum, and wiseacre answers.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
