as in insight
the ability to understand inner qualities or relationships
the kind of sapience that comes from a lifetime of experience as an educator
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sapience
Some people go the other way and say that sapience alone might be enough.
—
IEEE Spectrum, 23 Jan. 2025
Stories of such yearnings also illustrate a key requirement for sapience: resistance to oppression.
—Katherine Alejandra Cross, WIRED, 7 Sep. 2023
This seeming truth is said with a kind of sleepy sapience, as though only the naïve or the self-deluded would imagine anything otherwise.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2019
IEEE Spectrum, 23 Jan. 2025
Stories of such yearnings also illustrate a key requirement for sapience: resistance to oppression.
—Katherine Alejandra Cross, WIRED, 7 Sep. 2023
This seeming truth is said with a kind of sleepy sapience, as though only the naïve or the self-deluded would imagine anything otherwise.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sapience
Noun
-
Inside, cabinets are crammed with Happy Meal toys from around the globe, offering surprising insights into regional preferences and pop culture trends.—
Zoey Goto,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Next, the team wants to use digital reconstruction methods to correct deformation on other parts of the skull, such as the braincase, to reveal insights about the brain size of Little Foot — and potentially unlock clues about the cognitive abilities of our early human ancestors.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Established in 1913 as a Milanese leather goods atelier and reimagined decades later by then-daughter, Miuccia Prada, the brand speaks not just to a woman’s vanity, but to her intellect.—
Christina Holevas,
Vogue,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Does this sound like a trivial use of the human intellect?—
Paul Keane,
Hartford Courant,
22 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sapience.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sapience. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
