Word of the Day

: December 4, 2018

perspicacious

adjective per-spuh-KAY-shus

What It Means

: of acute mental vision or discernment : keen

perspicacious in Context

"Captivated by the breadth of its elegant façade—echoed in the grandeur of the interior spaces—the perspicacious owners enlisted their trusted decorator Jacques Grange … to collaborate on a sensitive renovation. — Angus Wilkie, Architectural Digest, December 2017

"Elsewhere in his speech, Daniels was perspicacious about the challenges that Purdue graduates are likely to face during the course of their careers and civic lives." — Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic, 6 June 2018

Did You Know?

Perspicacious is similar in meaning to shrewd and astute, but a sharp mind will also discern subtle differences among them. All three denote being acute in perception and sound in judgment, but shrewd stresses practical, hardheaded cleverness, whereas perspicacious implies unusual power to see through and comprehend what is puzzling or hidden. Astute suggests both shrewdness and perspicacity, as well as diplomatic skill.