Words / C2

pursp-i-KAYSH-uh-s/ˌpɜːspɪˈkeɪʃəs/

Perspicacious means unusually quick to notice what others miss and to grasp what it means. Keep it honest: it belongs in serious reading and formal praise of a mind, not in daily chat. A careful writer may use it once in a review; in speech say sharp or perceptive, or you will sound as if you swallowed a thesaurus.

Meaning

Quick to notice and understand things.

Examples

• “A perspicacious reader will see the author’s real point.”
• “Only a perspicacious editor caught the false date.”
• “The judge’s perspicacious questions exposed the gap.”

Good to know

Literary / formal. Everyday: perceptive, sharp.

Near in meaning

perceptive

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