- present participle of wit.
witting
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
deliberate; intentional
a witting insult
-
aware; knowing
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of witting
First recorded in 1250–1300, witting is from the Middle English word witing. See wit 2, -ing 2, -ing 1
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.
Facilitators—some witting, some not—also open bank accounts, cash checks and sit for some interviews.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
An agent is a paid and witting spy; he formally, sometimes covertly, works for a foreign government.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2025
“We expect financial institutions will undertake every effort to ensure that they are not witting or unwitting facilitators of circumvention and evasion,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement announcing the order.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 22, 2023
Yet they often falter when reckoning with their own role, witting or not, in what came to pass.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 14, 2018
“They have him, then!” quoth I, scarce witting that I spake aloud, nor who heard me.
From In Convent Walls The Story of the Despensers by M. (Madelaine) Irwin
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.
