perspicacious — perspicacious, perspicuous Fowler (1926) snootily urged the use of simpler alternatives by ‘those who are neither learned nor pretentious’. Perspicacious means ‘having mental penetration or discernment, discerning’, and its corresponding noun is… … Modern English usage
Perspicacious — Per spi*ca cious, a. [L. perspicax, acis, fr. perspicere to look through: cf. F. perspicace. See {Perspective}.] 1. Having the power of seeing clearly; quick sighted; sharp of sight. [1913 Webster] 2. Fig.: Of acute discernment; keen. [1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
perspicacious — mid 17c., from L. perspicax having the power of seeing through (see PERSPICACITY (Cf. perspicacity)) … Etymology dictionary
perspicacious — *shrewd, sagacious, astute Analogous words: *sharp, keen, acute: penetrating, piercing, probing (see ENTER) Antonyms: dull … New Dictionary of Synonyms
perspicacious — [adj] observant, perceptive acute, alert, astute, aware, clear sighted, clever, discerning, heady*, judicious, keen, penetrating, percipient, sagacious, savvy*, sharp, sharpwitted, shrewd; concept 402 Ant. ignorant, unobservant, unperceptive … New thesaurus
perspicacious — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ having a ready insight into and understanding of things. DERIVATIVES perspicaciously adverb perspicacity noun. ORIGIN from Latin perspicax seeing clearly … English terms dictionary
perspicacious — [pʉr΄spi kā′shəs] adj. [< L perspicax (gen. perspicacis) < perspicere, to see through: see PERSPECTIVE] 1. having keen judgment or understanding; acutely perceptive 2. Archaic having keen vision SYN. SHREWD perspicaciously adv. perspicacity … English World dictionary
perspicacious — [[t]pɜ͟ː(r)spɪke͟ɪʃəs[/t]] ADJ GRADED Someone who is perspicacious notices, realizes, and understands things quickly. [FORMAL] Ordinary British people become steadily more worldly, knowing, perspicacious and cynical. Syn: perceptive, astute… … English dictionary
perspicacious — adjective formal good at judging and understanding people and situations: a perspicacious literary critic | a perspicacious remark perspicaciously adverb perspicacity noun (U) … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
perspicacious — perspicaciously, adv. perspicaciousness, n. /perr spi kay sheuhs/, adj. 1. having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning: to exhibit perspicacious judgment. 2. Archaic. having keen vision. [1610 20; PERSPICACI(TY) + OUS] Syn. 1.… … Universalium
