1
as in cute
making light of something usually regarded as serious or sacred
you wouldn't be so smart-alecky if you were the one having the surgery
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sarcastic
marked by the use of wit that is intended to cause hurt feelings
smart-alecky comments from a coworker about her new clothes
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of smart-alecky
Even at its most sorrowful, anti-authoritarian, and smart-alecky, Gunn’s work endorses a fundamentally promising vision of life.
—
Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
Cleverbot veers from sounding like a winsome waif to coming across as a drunk, smart-alecky fifteen-year-old who talks in non sequiturs.
—Patricia Marx, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
Cleverbot veers from sounding like a winsome waif to coming across as a drunk, smart-alecky fifteen-year-old who talks in non sequiturs.
—Patricia Marx, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smart-alecky
Adjective
-
Though when he’s finally seen in full evil flight, the actor is arguably allowed to wax a little too cute about it.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Place them in a cute Weck jar and have a little pickle fork handy.—
Mary Shannon Wells,
Southern Living,
14 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
In her response, Stanton was livid and sarcastic.—
Moira Donegan,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Adebayo said with a sarcastic smile.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The fashion icon made a playful reference to the film while presenting the award for best makeup and hairstyling alongside Hathaway.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
16 Mar. 2026
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The collection was still as sexy as ever though, with the playful print appearing on itty-bitty bikinis, barely-there blouses, and, as seen here in look 3, low-slung trousers.—
Rosie Jarman,
Vogue,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The satirical stuff that Hart was writing in the 1930s no longer would play in the 1940s with the war on.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2026
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The darkly satirical film stars Kirsten Dunst, Daniel Brühl, and Keanu Reeves and is set on a long-haul flight where the entertainment system fails and passengers are forced to face the horror of being bored.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Soil with a pH below 6 is considered acidic; anything above 7 is alkaline; 7 is neutral.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
11 Mar. 2026
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Some plants perform better in an acidic soil, others in an alkaline soil.—
David Beaulieu,
The Spruce,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smart-alecky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smart-alecky. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
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