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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of smarts
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 6 June 2026
And a nod to president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos for not meddling with the lineup — and having the smarts to trade for Dubón in the first place.
—Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 6 June 2026
The linebacker known for his smarts started all 17 games for the Chiefs last season, recording 103 tackles, including two sacks.
—Jeff Fedotin, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
White admires Zuckerberg’s smarts, competitive instincts, and ability to run a full day of meetings on time.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 26 May 2026
Rain forced the tournament to be held indoors at the Longfellow Wellesley Tennis & Health Club, which is where Vu fought for every point against Delima, who was a dangerous combination of speed, smarts, and power on the court.
—Justin Barrasso, Boston Herald, 25 May 2026
The elder Foligno brother was a good deadline acquisition, bringing veteran smarts, leadership and the requisite tenacity to a team that needed it for a playoff run.
—John Shipley, Twin Cities, 20 May 2026
That is a 38% discount, which means $250 off, on a giant Quantum Dot display featuring Dolby Vision HDR, Fire TV smarts, and a sleek bezel-less design.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 14 May 2026
With those smarts, there’s just a hard-working player who will outright create his own points to pounce at.
—Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 14 May 2026
James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 14 Nov. 2025
Noun
The midwestern ensemble Greensky Bluegrass adds modern jam smarts to old folk instrumental traditions.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 6 June 2026
And a nod to president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos for not meddling with the lineup — and having the smarts to trade for Dubón in the first place.
—Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 6 June 2026
The linebacker known for his smarts started all 17 games for the Chiefs last season, recording 103 tackles, including two sacks.
—Jeff Fedotin, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
White admires Zuckerberg’s smarts, competitive instincts, and ability to run a full day of meetings on time.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 26 May 2026
Rain forced the tournament to be held indoors at the Longfellow Wellesley Tennis & Health Club, which is where Vu fought for every point against Delima, who was a dangerous combination of speed, smarts, and power on the court.
—Justin Barrasso, Boston Herald, 25 May 2026
The elder Foligno brother was a good deadline acquisition, bringing veteran smarts, leadership and the requisite tenacity to a team that needed it for a playoff run.
—John Shipley, Twin Cities, 20 May 2026
That is a 38% discount, which means $250 off, on a giant Quantum Dot display featuring Dolby Vision HDR, Fire TV smarts, and a sleek bezel-less design.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 14 May 2026
With those smarts, there’s just a hard-working player who will outright create his own points to pounce at.
—Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 14 May 2026
Verb
It’s been 10 years since Fantastic Four flopped, but its box-office failure still smarts for star Miles Teller.
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 14 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smarts
Noun
-
The tunnel was discovered through intelligence work conducted by agents with the FGR's Criminal Investigation Agency in coordination with Mexico's Security Cabinet.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
2 June 2026
-
Pulte will remain as chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and FHFA director in addition to acting as national intelligence director.—
Connor Greene,
Time,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Common symptoms include a fever, chills, fatigue, headache, body aches, chest tightness, coughing, shortness of breath and airway irritation.—
Ryan Brennan
June 2,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2026
-
First symptoms often include extreme tiredness, headaches, swollen lymph nodes and muscle aches.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
Luna spends the day in the socially conscious sign of Aquarius, shifting the emotional tone toward intellect, perspective, eccentricity and detachment.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
5 June 2026
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Mesoudi, who was not involved in the new study, agrees that cultural evolution was probably a key to human success while noting that the secret sauce could instead turn out to be social cooperation, language, individual intellect, or some combination of these factors.—
Cody Cottier,
Scientific American,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
But heat and humidity can turn a beautiful metal set into a rusty eyesore that hurts to sit on.—
Tessa Cooper,
Southern Living,
6 June 2026
-
In other words, the memory of the suffering of those dark days still hurts.—
Bea L. Hines,
Miami Herald,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
With it, comes a public sense of ownership of its most important characters.—
Sheena McKenzie,
CNN Money,
7 June 2026
-
Lundgren shares some wise words about how being a man is more than muscles, and about getting in front of himself — which doesn't make sense at the time, but will later.—
Gerrad Hall,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 June 2026
Verb
-
This one pains me as a Roth-era Van Halen fan, but there is no denying the band found incredible radio success with new frontman Sammy Hagar in the fold.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
6 May 2026
-
His disaffection baffles his acquaintances and pains his tubercular wife (a superb Quinn Jackson), whose doctor (Lambert Tamin) has only contempt for her husband’s agonizing.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smarts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smarts. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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