Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Demonstrating wit in expression, especially in speech or writing; clever and humorous.
  • adjective Characterized by or having the nature of wit; funny or jocular.
  • adjective Entertainingly and strikingly clever or original in concept, design, or performance.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Possessed of wisdom or learning; wise; discreet; knowing; artful.
  • Exhibiting intelligence or ingenuity; clever; skilfully devised.
  • Possessed of wit; smartly or cleverly facetious; ready with strikingly novel, clever, shrewd, and amusing sayings, or with sharp repartee; brilliant, sparkling, and original in expressing amusing notions or ideas; hence, sometimes, sarcastic; satirical: of persons.
  • Characterized by or pregnant with wit: as, a witty remark or repartee.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective obsolete Possessed of wit; knowing; wise; skillful; judicious; clever; cunning.
  • adjective Especially, possessing wit or humor; good at repartee; droll; facetious; sometimes, sarcastic.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective obsolete Wise, having good judgement.
  • adjective archaic Possessing a strong intellect or intellectual capacity; intelligent, skilful, ingenious.
  • adjective Clever; amusingly ingenious.
  • adjective Full of wit.
  • adjective quick of mind; insightful; in possession of wits

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective combining clever conception and facetious expression

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English wittiġ ("clever, wise"), corresponding to wit +‎ -y.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word witty.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.