sassy

¹

[ sas-ee ]

adjective

, Informal.

, sas·si·er, sas·si·est.

1. disrespectful or impudent; impertinent; insolent:

   Don't get sassy with me!

2. boldly stylish and smart; pert:

   a sassy red handbag.

sassy

²

[ sas-ee ]

noun

1. sassy bark.

sassy

¹

/ ˈsæsˌwʊd; ˈsæsɪ /

noun

1. a W African leguminous tree, Erythrophleum guineense, with poisonous bark ( sassy bark ) and hard strong wood
2. the bark or wood of this tree or the alkaloid derived from them, which is sometimes used in medicine

sassy

²

/ ˈsæsɪ /

adjective

1. informal.
   insolent, impertinent

Derived Forms

• ˈsassiness, noun
• ˈsassily, adverb

Other Words From

• sas·si·ness noun
• sas·si·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of sassy¹

An Americanism dating back to 1830–1835; alteration of saucy

Origin of sassy²

First recorded in 1855–60; of uncertain origin

Word History and Origins

Origin of sassy¹

C19: probably from a language of the Kwa family: compare Twi sese plane tree, Ewe sesewu a kind of timber tree

Origin of sassy²

C19: variant of saucy

Example Sentences

Phillips said in an interview with Variety, “The high voice, that accent, the gum-chewing and all that sort of sassy stuff that’s in the comics, we stripped that away. We wanted her to fit into this world of Gotham that we created from the first movie.”

From Salon

But when a WSJ reporter visited Anne Kilgore's house that evening, she said that Miss Sassy, who went missing in August, had since reappeared in her basement.

From Salon

In the film, he may be all looming shadows and insect-like vocal trills, but out in the wild, the Babadook has become synonymous with a sassy queer figure who suffers no fools: an antisocial, basement-dwelling narcissist who terrorizes young boys for the fun of it.

From Los Angeles Times

In her wonderful memoir, “Fingers Crossed: How Music Saved Me from Success,” Lush’s Miki Berenyi notes, “The claim that Britpop celebrates sassy women in bands is a veneer,” and added, “The female-led Britpop bands sold a fraction of what the successful bloke bands did. Sure, the girls got a fair bit of attention, but it’s the blokes who ruled the roost.”

From Salon

My book was called “Fräulein,” which means a sassy kind of woman, which my pictures are about.

From Los Angeles Times