Kevin- August 24, 2021
- Common Questions
Do you know the definition of witty? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word witty, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!
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What does the word witty mean?
According to Collins English Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the word witty is an adjective that means having humor or being amusing in a smart and clever way. Someone who is witty has a cleverness and whimsicality to them, and a unique perception of the world. They often have a strong intellect and ingenuity alongside their possession of wits, along with common sense. You also might hear the word wit in the expression wits’ end. The noun form of witty is either wit or wittiness. The suffixes er and est can be added to the end of witty to form the superlatives wittier and wittiest. Many things can be witty, including a witty remark, a witty writer, witty lyrics, a witty sculpture, witty choreography, a witty commentator, a witty saying, a witty script and more. Witty is two syllables – wit-ty – and the pronunciation of witty is ˈwɪti. This word has been used since Middle English.
Many different languages also contain words that mean witty. You may notice that many of these translations of witty look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are words of different languages that look and sound alike while also retaining a similar meaning. These are often formed when two words or languages have the same root or language of origin. This list of translations of the word witty is provided by Word Sense.
- Urdu: ہوشیار (hośiyār)
- Latvian: gudrs
- Malay: pandai
- Portuguese: esperto
- Danish: klog, smart
- Roman: pametan
- Bengali: চতুর (côtur)
- Lao: ສະຫລາດ, ສລາດ
- Icelandic: snjall
- Dutch: slim, kloek, scherpzinnig
- Sinhalese: හපන්, දක්ෂ
- Darkinjung: girrâchi
- Persian: باهوش (bâ-huš), زیرک (zirak), زرنگ (zerang)
- Romanian: deștept
- Norwegian: klok, begavet, intelligent, skarpsindig, smart
- Korean: 똑똑하다 (ttokttok-hada) (predicate), 똑똑한 (ttokttok-han) (attributive), 영리하다 (yeongni-hada) (predicate), 영리한 (yeongni-han) (attributive)
- Spanish: listo, inteligente, pillo, astuto
- Hindi: होशियार (hośiyār)
- Burmese: လျင်, ဉာဏ်ကောင်း, ပါးလျား, အကြံပိုင်
- Armenian: խելացի, խելոք
- Slovak: chytrý
- Kazakh: ақылды
- Yiddish: קלוג
- Greek: έξυπνος
- Tatar: акыллы
- Turkmen: akylly
- Ukrainian: розу́мний
- Thai: ฉลาด (chalàat)
- Japanese: 賢い (かしこい , kashikoi), 利口, 頭がいい (あたまがいい, atama ga ii)
- Maori: ihumanea, manea
- Mongolian: ухаантай
- Moroccan Arabic: مطور, مطورة
- Mandarin: 聰明, 聪明 (cōngming), 伶俐 (línglì)
- Turkish: akıllı, zeki, afacan
- Kott: anaŋaja
- Estonian: nutikas
- Azeri: ağıllı
- Lower Sorbian: mudry
- Bashkir: аҡыллы
- Tajik: оқил, боақл, ҳушманд
- Finnish: nokkela
- Georgian: ჭკვიანი
- Swahili: erevu
- Arabic: ذَكِيّ
- French: intelligent, malin (masc.)
- Polish: sprytny, zmyślny, bystry
- Scottish Gaelic: tapaidh, glic
- Bulgarian: у́мен
- Afrikaans: slim
- Hungarian: okos, eszes
- Khmer: ឆ្លាត (chlaat)
- Russian: у́мный, разу́мный, хи́трый (sly, cunning)
- Uzbek: aqlli, oqil
- Asturian: llistu
- Swedish: klok, smart
- Irish: cliste
- Czech: chytrý
- Macedonian: умен
- Telugu: మేధావి
- Vietnamese: thông minh (聰明)
- Kyrgyz: акылдуу, эстүү
- Latin: sapiens
- Slovene: pameten
- Belarusian: разу́мны
- Cyrillic: паметан
- Lithuanian: protingas
- Albanian: i zgjuar
- Hebrew: פיקח (piqe’akh), חָכָם (khakhám)
- Esperanto: sprita
- Catalan: llest
- Sorani: زیرهک (zirek)
- German: patent, klug, gescheit, clever, schlau
- Walloon: sûti (masc.), sûteye (fem.), malén (masc.), malene (fem.)
What are synonyms and antonyms of witty?
There are many different words and phrases that a person can choose to use in place of the word witty. These are called synonyms, which are defined as words and phrases with the same definition as another word or phrase. Learning synonyms is a great way to expand your English vocabulary and avoid repeating yourself. This list of synonyms of witty is from Power Thesaurus.
- cunning
- comic
- quick-witted
- zany
- smart
- whimsical
- jocose
- hilarious
- intelligent
- amusing
- ridiculous
- risible
- entertaining
- humorous
- uproarious
- facetious
- killing
- jocular
- tongue-in-cheek
- pleasant
- side-splitting
- sparkling
- playful
- funny
- epigrammatic
- absurd
- quick
- pleasing
- scream
- piquant
- shrewd
- sly
- lighthearted
- penetrating
- laugh
- crazy
- wacky
- cute
- fumy
- resourceful
- sarcastic
- epigrammatical
- enjoyable
- humourous
- gut-busting
- sprightly
- exciting
- laugh-a-minute
- wise
- interesting
- sagacious
- riotous
- salty
- artful
- pithy
- biting
- rich
- snappy
- light
- fun
- dry
- cleverer
- nimble-witted
- joker
- jocund
- mirthful
- merry
- sidesplitting
- intellectual
- ludicrous
- subtle
- bright
- astute
- pointed
- keen
- laughable
- clever
- comical
- funnier
- waggish
- rib-tickling
- hysterical
- slapstick
- cleverest
- priceless
- brilliant
- comedic
- ironic
- diverting
- funniest
- scintillating
- sharp
- joking
- silly
- lively
- jokey
- farcical
- droll
- ingenious
- flirty
There are also many different words that have the opposite meaning as the word witty. These opposite words are called antonyms, which are another quick and easy way to expand your English language vocabulary. This list of antonyms is also provided by Power Thesaurus.
- unfunny
- witless
- dull-headed
- feather-brained
- humorless
- stewpid
- unamusing
- ass-headed
- dumb as a bag of hammers
- as silly as a goose
- doleful
- dry as dust
- dumb as a box of rocks
- akamai
- as dumb as a doorknob
- as thick as mince
- as thick as a brick
- serious
- fatuous
- black
- beat
- fat-headed
- as thick as pigsh*t
- as dumb as a bag of hammers
- baboso
- daft as a brush
- as thick as champ
- as dumb as a sack of hammers
- as dumb as an ox
- asinine
- gloomy
- as dumb as a post
- as daft as a brush
- cack-handed
- as dumb as a box of rocks
- as dumb as a doornail
- clueless
- as thick as a plank
- chubby
- slow on the uptake
- silly
- as dumb as dirt
- as thick as two short planks
- grave
- as thick as pig sh*t
- boring
- dull
- not fun
- ass headed
- austere
How can the word witty be used in a sentence?
There are many different ways in which the word witty can be used in a sentence in the English language. Using words in a sentence is a fantastic way to familiarize yourself with their definitions and add them to your vocabulary. You can also try making flashcards or a quiz for yourself to test your knowledge of the definitions of different words. Try using this new word of the day in a sentence today! Below are several different examples of using the word witty in a sentence to help get your started.
The Washington Post wrote a witty political scene using a facetious expression – as is the nature of wit, few understood it.
The Seattle minister made a bold change to her sermons – they were very witty, and many enjoyed it.
The comic told tidbits of a witty, funny story about a treat, an opera-aficionado, and a declaration.
Overall, the word witty means having humour or a clever conception of something to create laughter. People who are witty have a high intellectual capacity and good judgement.
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Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.
