witticism

[ wit-uh-siz-uhm ]

/ ˈwɪt əˌsɪz əm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR witticism ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a witty remark or sentence.

Nearby words

Origin of witticism

1645–55; derivative of witty, modeled on criticism

SYNONYMS FOR witticism

joke, jest, quip, sally, wisecrack.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR witticism ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for witticism

Nature fails him; and, being forced to his old shift, he has recourse to witticism.
Essays and Tales|Joseph Addison
Two hundred years later, in the days of Louis XV., people of taste would have laughed at this witticism.
The Works of Honor de Balzac|Honor de Balzac
This witticism ranged all the laughers on Montricourt's side, and even Monsieur Roland decided to admit defeat.
Frdrique; vol. 1|Charles Paul de Kock
Every one added his witticism, to the effect that it was impossible.
Odette's Marriage|Albert Delpit

The use of the prescribed address "ma'mselle" was evidently regarded as a witticism, for shouts of laughter filled the place.
The False Chevalier|William Douw Lighthall

British Dictionary definitions for witticism

witticism

/ (ˈwɪtɪˌsɪzəm) /

noun

a clever or witty remark

Word Origin for witticism

C17: from witty; coined by Dryden (1677) by analogy with criticism

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for witticism

witticism

1670s, coined by Dryden from witty on model of criticism.

witticism

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of witticism

Examples from the Web for witticism

witticism

noun

Word Origin for witticism

witticism