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.

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Vocabulary lists containing wittiness

The Suffix -ness, Part 6

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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

This magazine, in Turkish, is published by female cartoonists and tackles sexism and misogyny with wittiness and bravery.

From New York Times • Oct. 26, 2022

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

From Slate • Apr. 3, 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

But to him who looks but on the surface there is merriness enough and wittiness enough and wisdom enough to make his loss of the deeper meaning, for him, but a little loss.

From Irish Plays and Playwrights by Weygandt, Cornelius

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