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.
Insouciance goes a fairly long way in “Confess, Fletch,” which revives the wiseacre investigator once played by Chevy Chase and featured in a series of novels by Gregory Mcdonald.
From New York Times ● Sep. 15, 2022
You just know some wiseacre will be screaming “Get out of the hole!” the next time he putts.
From Seattle Times ● May 6, 2022
He proved so skillful at blending “the apparently antagonistic roles of wiseacre and smart alec,” as he put it, that he was soon invited to appear on television himself.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 27, 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
He was acting so different, all glum, and wiseacre answers.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
