as in intelligence
the ability to learn and understand or to deal with problems
she had the smarts to start college at age 16, but perhaps not the emotional maturity
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Recent Examples of smarts
Kevin Fishbain, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Few couples combine star power, smarts, and style quite like George and Amal Clooney.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 31 Oct. 2025
Tonally, Regretting You is all over the place, a perfectly serviceable Hallmark movie subjected to unnecessary ironic smarts.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2025
Halley is viewed as having more academic disposition and is more enmeshed with operations and technology and is respected for his industry smarts.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 20 Oct. 2025
In Dahl’s original story, the Muggle-Wumps are clever and resourceful, using their smarts to turn the tables on their cruel captors.
—Jane Lacroix, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
Test your sci-fi smarts in our quiz!
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 17 Oct. 2025
And the Amazon Echo Dot (5th gen) Disney Edition is 28% off for Halloween, bringing Alexa smarts, fun design, and surprisingly good sound to your desk or bedside table.
—PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2025
However, for all its smarts, AI still can’t make the most difficult orbital hazards go away.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
Only 26, he was considered an ascending player by the front office and coaching staff, with the size and smarts to play opposite Montez Sweat in Dennis Allen’s defense.
—Kevin Fishbain, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Few couples combine star power, smarts, and style quite like George and Amal Clooney.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 31 Oct. 2025
Tonally, Regretting You is all over the place, a perfectly serviceable Hallmark movie subjected to unnecessary ironic smarts.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2025
Halley is viewed as having more academic disposition and is more enmeshed with operations and technology and is respected for his industry smarts.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 20 Oct. 2025
In Dahl’s original story, the Muggle-Wumps are clever and resourceful, using their smarts to turn the tables on their cruel captors.
—Jane Lacroix, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
Test your sci-fi smarts in our quiz!
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 17 Oct. 2025
And the Amazon Echo Dot (5th gen) Disney Edition is 28% off for Halloween, bringing Alexa smarts, fun design, and surprisingly good sound to your desk or bedside table.
—PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2025
However, for all its smarts, AI still can’t make the most difficult orbital hazards go away.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smarts
Noun
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His intelligence and compassion helped enormously and launched our lifelong friendship.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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Young stars like Nicolò Barella, Federico Chiesa, and Gianluca Scamacca bring energy and creativity to a squad that still values tactical intelligence and grit.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, gastrointestinal issues, stiff neck, confusion and loss of balance.—
NPR,
NPR,
4 Nov. 2025
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Although pregnant women typically have fever, fatigue and muscle aches, serious cases may lead to stillbirth, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn.—
Asuka Koda,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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His intellect is evident when reviewing his rigorous course load, outstanding ACT scores, and his pursuit of the AP Capstone Diploma.—
Katie Nixon,
Nashville Tennessean,
3 Nov. 2025
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His intellect and refinement are his most terrifying tools.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And some experts caution that the testing of nuclear warheads – creating actual nuclear explosions – hurts humans and can have lasting consequences for generations.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
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If anything hurts, pull slowly out of the pose.—
Cory Martin,
Verywell Health,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Filler shots of chauffeurs, champagne and colossal walk-in closets with pristine designer clobber glistening and gleaming from glass shelves centred around trays and trays of priceless jewels assault the viewer’s senses between almost every scene.—
Alejandra Gularte,
Vulture,
5 Nov. 2025
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For all the fans’ cries for the team to go all in, there’s still the matter of dollars and sense.—
Jeff Zrebiec,
New York Times,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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But regret pains them like a knot in their shoulders.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
6 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smarts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smarts. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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