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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of smarts
Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2025
Tyler Andrew Riddle dripped with charisma and smarts.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Of course this is just a huge cast but this edition is dominated by Dockery’s Mary, navigating being in the eye of a storm but also showing dignity and smarts in the process.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2025
Mainstream musical offerings of the time tended toward the overly macho or overly feminine, overly loud or overly slick—but indie appeared to value complexity and smarts.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 29 Aug. 2025
With his smarts, athleticism, versatility and physicality, Hamilton has become one of the centerpieces of a Baltimore defense well-stocked with accomplished veterans and former first-round picks.
—Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
And while superb hardware is a big part of Vivo's flagship phone camera prowess, software processing also plays a significant role, and those image processing algorithms and smarts have carried over to the V series.
—Ben Sin, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
At times in camp, though, Barron has looked lost in his own smarts.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 22 Aug. 2025
Frost/Nixon is all theatrical, actorly flourishes delivered with steady craftsmanship and showbiz smarts.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025
Noun
The whole conceit of the 2025 season was that the veterans would hold down the fort until the prodigious roster of kids caught up to the speed, smarts, and physicality of the NFL game.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2025
Tyler Andrew Riddle dripped with charisma and smarts.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Of course this is just a huge cast but this edition is dominated by Dockery’s Mary, navigating being in the eye of a storm but also showing dignity and smarts in the process.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2025
Mainstream musical offerings of the time tended toward the overly macho or overly feminine, overly loud or overly slick—but indie appeared to value complexity and smarts.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 29 Aug. 2025
With his smarts, athleticism, versatility and physicality, Hamilton has become one of the centerpieces of a Baltimore defense well-stocked with accomplished veterans and former first-round picks.
—Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
And while superb hardware is a big part of Vivo's flagship phone camera prowess, software processing also plays a significant role, and those image processing algorithms and smarts have carried over to the V series.
—Ben Sin, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
At times in camp, though, Barron has looked lost in his own smarts.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 22 Aug. 2025
Frost/Nixon is all theatrical, actorly flourishes delivered with steady craftsmanship and showbiz smarts.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smarts
Noun
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Managing and interpreting the flood of data would be impossible without machine intelligence.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Counterterrorism strategies must continue to adapt to meet this evolving battleground, leveraging not only military and intelligence tools but also public-private partnerships with tech platforms, AI monitoring, and global diplomacy.—
Richard Frankel,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Symptoms are similar to the common flu, including fever, chills, body aches, sore throat, eye irritation and tiredness.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
16 Sep. 2025
-
My heart aches for Erika and their children.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Michèle comes across as a singular and powerful personality, with something of Akerman’s own trenchant intellect, assertive candor, and vulnerable self-revelation.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 Sep. 2025
-
With his new book, Pan, Clune has turned his cockeyed sensibility and coruscating intellect to fiction.—
Scott Stossel,
The Atlantic,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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What hurts me doesn't necessarily hurt another person with the same loss.—
Heather Straughter,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
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Negative, mean or even well-intended but poorly delivered feedback always hurts.—
Susanne Biro,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Your base is the foundation of any makeup look, but in the year 2025, that doesn’t have to include actual foundation—at least not in the traditional sense.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
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Instead of clarity and a sense of financial empowerment, individuals experience costly missteps and are left unsure of where to find reliable guidance—eroding any trust in the mainstream financial system.—
Sandy Anderson,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 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 17 Sep. 2025.
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