wittiness

American

[wit-ee-nis] / ˈwɪt i nɪs /

noun

the quality or condition of being amusingly clever.

Creativity in advertising should convey a brand’s uniqueness rather than merely display the advertiser’s ingenuity and wittiness.
Customers love the wittiness of the names of sandwiches and drinks on the menu.

Etymology

Origin of wittiness

witty ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Explanation

Your wittiness is your ability to be clever and make people laugh. If you're known for your wittiness, you'll probably get invited to a lot of parties. If someone is quick with a joke or a clever comment, you can describe them as witty — and this general characteristic is known as wittiness. Your brother's wittiness makes him popular with his friends, but it may sometimes get him in trouble at school. And the wittiness of the writing might also make an otherwise serious novel much more interesting to read.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing wittiness

The Suffix -ness, Part 6

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

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.

“It’s the wittiness and it’s the material. You gotta do your homework, you gotta know everything about who you’re going after. Within reason, of course.”

From Washington Times • Oct. 10, 2023

And you’ve nailed that thing about the wittiness of it.

From Slate • Apr. 3, 2020

Or from the Nobel laureate George Stigler, whose essay “The Intellectual and the Marketplace” would have leavened Bacevich’s book with something it lacks: wittiness.

From New York Times • Apr. 1, 2020

Moffat and Gatiss found a way to take often-used and referenced characters and make them feel fresh and new, employing a killer combination of wittiness, editing, and perhaps most importantly of all, casting.

From Salon • Jan. 4, 2020

I ran to my loft bubbling over with appreciation of the exceeding wittiness of my own joke, but on opening my door a cry of dismay escaped me.

From Romance of Roman Villas (The Renaissance) by Champney, Elizabeth W. (Elizabeth Williams)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023