Main Entry:

²wit

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German wizzi knowledge, Old English witan to know

Date:

before 12th century

1 a: mind, memory b: reasoning power : intelligence2 a: sense 2a —usually used in plural <alone and warming his five wits, the white owl in the belfry sits — Alfred Tennyson> b (1): mental soundness : sanity —usually used in plural (2): mental capability and resourcefulness : ingenuity3 a: astuteness of perception or judgment : acumen b: the ability to relate seemingly disparate things so as to illuminate or amuse c (1): a talent for banter or persiflage (2): a witty utterance or exchange d: clever or apt humor4 a: a person of superior intellect : thinker b: an imaginatively perceptive and articulate individual especially skilled in banter or persiflage

— at one's wit's end or at one's wits' end

: at a loss for a means of solving a problem

synonyms wit, humor, irony, sarcasm, satire, repartee mean a mode of expression intended to arouse amusement. wit suggests the power to evoke laughter by remarks showing verbal felicity or ingenuity and swift perception especially of the incongruous <a playful wit>. humor implies an ability to perceive the ludicrous, the comical, and the absurd in human life and to express these usually without bitterness <a sense of humor>. irony applies to a manner of expression in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is seemingly expressed <the irony of the title>. sarcasm applies to expression frequently in the form of irony that is intended to cut or wound <given to heartless sarcasm>. satire applies to writing that exposes or ridicules conduct, doctrines, or institutions either by direct criticism or more often through irony, parody, or caricature <a satire on the Congress>. repartee implies the power of answering quickly, pointedly, or wittily <a dinner guest noted for repartee>.