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Perspicacious is an adjective that can seem overwhelming at first glance. But despite its impressive length, its meaning is actually quite easy to grasp. The word is used to describe someone who possesses wisdom or has an especially keen insight. Several of its synonyms are astute, clever and observant. An additional synonym for perspicacious is sagacious, which The Wordict has already covered here.

The word can be used to describe someone is is shrewd and wise, so someone who makes wise and rational decisions could be described as being perspicacious. Using the noun form of the word, someone who makes unwise choices would not possess perspicaciousness.

The word once had a secondary definition, able to be used to describe a person with good eyesight. However, the passage of time has now rendered this definition obsolete.

Pronunciation:
Per-spick-aish-iss

Example of ‘perspicacious’ used in a sentence:

When the teacher read the well-written, carefully crafted essay, they deduced right away that it was the work of a rather perspicacious student.