perspicacious

[ pur-spi-key-shuhs ]

adjective

1. having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning:

   to exhibit perspicacious judgment.

   Synonyms: penetrating, shrewd, acute, perceptive

   Antonyms: stupid, dull

2. Archaic. having keen vision.

perspicacious

/ ˌpɜːspɪˈkeɪʃəs; ˌpɜːspɪˈkæsɪtɪ /

adjective

1. acutely perceptive or discerning
2. archaic.
   having keen eyesight

Derived Forms

• ˌperspiˈcaciously, adverb
• perspicacity, noun

Other Words From

• perspi·cacious·ly adverb
• perspi·cacious·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of perspicacious¹

First recorded in 1610–20; perspicaci(ty) + -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of perspicacious¹

C17: from Latin perspicax, from perspicere to look at closely; see perspective

Example Sentences

Concerts were free, and the playing was “perspicacious” and “well-drilled” according to reviews during the Nixon administration, when musicians could be as young as 11.

From Los Angeles Times

He’s perspicacious but also a bit hapless.

From New York Times

Crewe is perspicacious about marriage and other partnerships, the rituals couples employ, for good and ill.

From Washington Post

In the perspicacious documentary “Being BeBe,” the director Emily Branham seems to have taken a page from Janet Malcolm.

From New York Times

Shush’s mukhtar — the Levantine village equivalent of a mayor — was known to be perspicacious and wise, and he had brought a paved road and an electricity generator to the village, if not — yet — running water.

From New York Times