as in wise
formal
having or showing an ability to notice and understand things that are difficult or not obvious
She considers herself a perspicacious judge of character. The critic made some perspicacious observations about the film.
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Recent Examples of perspicacious
If a new Bridgerton-sibling romance each season is the series’ gimmick, then Penelope has proven to be its soul—a vividly realistic protagonist whose perspicacious alter ego tethered each fairytale courtship to earth.
—
Judy Berman, TIME, 14 June 2024
One of the few perspicacious journalists of the Trump era, Graeme Wood, put it pithily: The Deep State is in the White House, and Trump appointed it.
—Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 13 Dec. 2023
With the help of friends in the publishing world, Jaffrey’s draft landed in the hands of the perspicacious Knopf editor Judith Jones in 1971.
—Mayukh Sen, Washington Post, 27 Nov. 2023
Photographs show Pym looking jolly and perspicacious, with charmingly crooked English teeth.
—Thomas Mallon, The New Yorker, 30 May 2022
This particular Ferrari F50 was delivered new, in 1996, to Étienne Léandri, a defense lawyer and perspicacious Ferrari collector from Monaco.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 7 Mar. 2022
As played by the perspicacious young performer Aoife Riddell, Phoebe is perhaps the realest part of the whole picture, a sweet and desperate and boy-crazy kid bouncing with eagerness and nerves.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Forty-five years have passed since the late Professor Price coined his perspicacious term.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Nov. 2010
Judy Berman, TIME, 14 June 2024
One of the few perspicacious journalists of the Trump era, Graeme Wood, put it pithily: The Deep State is in the White House, and Trump appointed it.
—Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 13 Dec. 2023
With the help of friends in the publishing world, Jaffrey’s draft landed in the hands of the perspicacious Knopf editor Judith Jones in 1971.
—Mayukh Sen, Washington Post, 27 Nov. 2023
Photographs show Pym looking jolly and perspicacious, with charmingly crooked English teeth.
—Thomas Mallon, The New Yorker, 30 May 2022
This particular Ferrari F50 was delivered new, in 1996, to Étienne Léandri, a defense lawyer and perspicacious Ferrari collector from Monaco.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 7 Mar. 2022
As played by the perspicacious young performer Aoife Riddell, Phoebe is perhaps the realest part of the whole picture, a sweet and desperate and boy-crazy kid bouncing with eagerness and nerves.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Forty-five years have passed since the late Professor Price coined his perspicacious term.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Nov. 2010
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perspicacious
Adjective
-
Streaming-wise, Paramount now has the ability to combine Paramount+, HBO Max, and Pluto TV.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Feb. 2026
-
After last fall went so badly off the rails, the wiser play for the Buffs surely would’ve been to wait until this year to re-negotiate — to see what a post-Shedeur/post-Hunter roster looked like.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Joshua Kimmich let fly with his left boot to score the winner with a volley in the 87th minute, just four minutes after Daniel Svensson equalized for Dortmund with a brilliant volley inside the left post.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Well, Serena is not only my sister but just a brilliant mind, such an awesome, brilliant human, so unstoppable in every way.—
Rod Stafford Hagwood,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Beyond the auditorium roof, the studio employed other clever features to keep the building cool in Indore's hot climate, which sees temperatures of 86 °F - 104 °F (30 °C - 40 °C) for most of the year.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Your 11th House of Collaboration lights up as clever Mercury meets Venus, the planet of connection, there.—
Tarot.com,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
According to the German firm, the approach enables intelligent systems, including humanoid robots, to operate in live manufacturing environments.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Mar. 2026
-
And then Roger Roger, the generative AI has become more intelligent.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The Revolution Cooking smart toaster sears bagels, bread, waffles and more from edge to edge without drying them out -- crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
28 Feb. 2026
-
With Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto bringing the entire Japanese market on board as Dodgers fans, the richest and smartest team in baseball has ways of generating millions beyond the boundaries of normal revenue sharing that rival owners never even stopped to consider.—
Tim Cowlishaw,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But like other African countries, Zimbabwe is increasingly keen to maximize the value of its minerals by processing them at home before exporting.—
Alexander Onukwue,
semafor.com,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Similarly, Survivor 48’s Kamilla Karthigesu was shown to be an enthusiastic operator keen to pull a fast one on her tribemates.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
All-day dining at The Common Room blurs culinary boundaries to curate an exceptional selection of prime cuts, succulent seafood, and specialty dishes, each meticulously prepared and enhanced with local flair.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Feb. 2026
-
It has been loved onto the screen by the ferocious talent of MK, the exceptional executives at HBO and the world-class production team in Wolf Studios Wales, where Bad Wolf has filmed every season.—
Joe Otterson,
Variety,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Later, McCartney goes to the heart of the matter with an astute assessment of a value bred into him in Liverpool, a working-class aversion to being the boss.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Feb. 2026
-
In a ruse that, for lack of a more astute reference point here, feels very Don Draper-coded, Rose poses as the dear male soldier who died next to her in battle, figuring why waste the deeds to perfectly decent land, or his name.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Perspicacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perspicacious. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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