as in wiseass
a person who likes to show off in a clever but annoying way
a loudmouthed wiseacre who thinks he is more amusing than he really is
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Recent Examples of wiseacre
In 1982’s hit action comedy 48 Hours, a young Eddie Murphy plays a wiseacre criminal on parole in order to help a veteran cop, played by Nick Nolte, solve a case.
—
Pete Hammond, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2025
Similarly, the Pink Ladies, a popular clique headed by Rizzo (Stockard Channing), deliver their wiseacre lines with a fair dose of irony.
—Vogue, 10 Sep. 2024
Mark Kelly The boat, the train and the paradigm shift were all missed by Apple, according to the wiseacres.
—Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 6 June 2023
At the height of his career, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, film director Mike Nichols was widely regarded as something akin to the nation’s satirist in chief — our principal wit, wag, and wiseacre.
—Peter Tonguette, National Review, 4 Mar. 2021
The rest is an affirming mixture of pathos and zingers, memories and regrets, all told in the wiseacre voice of Duffy Sinclair.
—Joyce Sáenz Harris, Dallas News, 6 Apr. 2020
Bugs Bunny likes carrots and is a wiseacre, but Mickey is a cypher.
—Oliver Staley, Quartz, 5 Mar. 2020
The wiseacres at Ivy and Coney are once again turning their neighborhood tavern into a month-long celebration of Hanukkah.
—Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2019
The young cast of the first IT was, unsurprisingly, in large part made up of unknowns, with Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard, who played the wiseacre Richie, the best known of the bunch.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 10 July 2019
Pete Hammond, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2025
Similarly, the Pink Ladies, a popular clique headed by Rizzo (Stockard Channing), deliver their wiseacre lines with a fair dose of irony.
—Vogue, 10 Sep. 2024
Mark Kelly The boat, the train and the paradigm shift were all missed by Apple, according to the wiseacres.
—Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 6 June 2023
At the height of his career, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, film director Mike Nichols was widely regarded as something akin to the nation’s satirist in chief — our principal wit, wag, and wiseacre.
—Peter Tonguette, National Review, 4 Mar. 2021
The rest is an affirming mixture of pathos and zingers, memories and regrets, all told in the wiseacre voice of Duffy Sinclair.
—Joyce Sáenz Harris, Dallas News, 6 Apr. 2020
Bugs Bunny likes carrots and is a wiseacre, but Mickey is a cypher.
—Oliver Staley, Quartz, 5 Mar. 2020
The wiseacres at Ivy and Coney are once again turning their neighborhood tavern into a month-long celebration of Hanukkah.
—Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2019
The young cast of the first IT was, unsurprisingly, in large part made up of unknowns, with Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard, who played the wiseacre Richie, the best known of the bunch.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 10 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wiseacre
Noun
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One year after his debut in Top Secret! and one year before stepping up as Top Gun's Iceman, Kilmer led Martha Coolidge's comedy Real Genius, playing a Caltech wiz-kid (and hard-partying wiseass) tasked with designing a chemical laser.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
2 Apr. 2025
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But since the emergence of a kinder, gentler Deadpool in the wiseass character’s first stand-alone movie, Wade has carried on a long-distance flirtation with Wolverine.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
23 July 2024
Noun
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Also, the movie knows when to ease up on the wisenheimer instinct.—
Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Sep. 2023
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Stan is a bit of a wisenheimer, and Sandler puts his natural yappiness to good use.—
Mark Feeney,
BostonGlobe.com,
9 June 2022
Noun
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And of course, the sci-fi comedy pic’s architect, Mel Brooks, is back, returning to his roles as Zen Yiddish wise guy Yogurt and President Skroob.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
25 Sep. 2025
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The Green Bay Packers made quite a Week 1 impression — at least with the wise guys in Las Vegas.—
Rob Reischel,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Agnes came from a family of smarties.—
Bea L. Hines,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
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The suffix -y here is the same as in words like doggy or smarty, used to form nicknames or informal descriptors.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This fuzzy, snout-nosed, smart aleck extraterrestrial whose name was Gordon Shumway crashed in the suburban garage of the Tanner family in California after escaping from the doomed planet of Melmac, which was destroyed by nuclear war.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
24 Aug. 2025
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Newton scored and so did backcourt mate Cam Spencer, that different style of smart aleck, who had 20.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
13 June 2024
Cite this Entry
“Wiseacre.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wiseacre. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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