as in cute
making light of something usually regarded as serious or sacred
the comedian's wiseass monologue about terrorism was greeted with stony silence
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in wiseacre
a person who likes to show off in a clever but annoying way
fine, you're right, but there was no reason to be such a wiseass while pointing out the error
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Recent Examples of wiseass
Randall Colburn, EW.com, 2 Apr. 2025
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
His expression was again lightly sardonic: a Jewish wiseass, a natural resister and conspirator, one maybe even handicapped in that role by looking too much the part.
—John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
There’s more of Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman this time around, too, though the iconic wiseass gets exactly one (1) decent line that’s already been trailered and memed to death.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2024
Seydoux is the spoiled starlet unsure of her own talent; Garrel the seductive wiseass who hides his ego behind good manners; Lindon the seasoned veteran with no patience for amateurs; and Quenard the obnoxiously funny newcomer whose working-class origins and diction separate him from the pack.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 May 2024
Meanwhile, Hart plays seasoned mercenary Roland and Black plays wiseass robot Claptrap.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024
Nick is the self-deprecating wiseass.
—Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 31 Mar. 2023
No one’s better at playing a low-key wiseass.
—BostonGlobe.com, 19 Aug. 2021
Noun
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
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
His expression was again lightly sardonic: a Jewish wiseass, a natural resister and conspirator, one maybe even handicapped in that role by looking too much the part.
—John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
There’s more of Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman this time around, too, though the iconic wiseass gets exactly one (1) decent line that’s already been trailered and memed to death.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2024
Seydoux is the spoiled starlet unsure of her own talent; Garrel the seductive wiseass who hides his ego behind good manners; Lindon the seasoned veteran with no patience for amateurs; and Quenard the obnoxiously funny newcomer whose working-class origins and diction separate him from the pack.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 May 2024
Meanwhile, Hart plays seasoned mercenary Roland and Black plays wiseass robot Claptrap.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024
Nick is the self-deprecating wiseass.
—Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 31 Mar. 2023
No one’s better at playing a low-key wiseass.
—BostonGlobe.com, 19 Aug. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wiseass
Adjective
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Save on breezy skirts, cute jeans, and stretchy yoga pants that are ideal for travel.—
Isabel Garcia,
People.com,
26 Apr. 2025
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While there’s no doubt the videos feature cute little ones and are intended just for laughs, mental health professionals say what some parents view as harmless fun may actually be affecting children in unplanned ways.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
23 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Similarly, the Pink Ladies, a popular clique headed by Rizzo (Stockard Channing), deliver their wiseacre lines with a fair dose of irony.—
Vogue,
Vogue,
10 Sep. 2024
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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
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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The wise guys that summarily swooped him up were rewarded with 10 multiple-TD games and a QB8 finish on the year.—
Bill Reinhard,
New York Daily News,
30 Jan. 2025
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Swaggering ex-con Sullivan’s conscience manifests in the form of Father Jerry Connolly (Pat O’Brien), the childhood friend turned cleric who does his best to keep the wise guys in line and set another example for the lovable, mischievous Dead End Kids.—
Mike Barnes,
The Hollywood Reporter,
17 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The film stars Janelle Monáe in overlapping roles as a 21st-century professional smarty named Veronica and an enslaved woman named Eden who is forced into labor on a cotton plantation.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
18 Sep. 2020
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In addition to Johnson, East High's resident smarty-pants, Monique Coleman will be reprising her role as the brilliant Taylor McKessie and Broadway veteran Alyson Reed will be back as the kooky Ms. Darbus.—
Shafiq Najib,
Peoplemag,
12 Nov. 2022
Noun
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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
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Perry portrayed sweet, sarcastic smart aleck Chandler Bing for 10 seasons on Friends, garnering an Emmy nomination.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
29 Oct. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Wiseass.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wiseass. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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