Meanings
comparative more perspicacious · superlative most perspicacious
- figurativelyOf acute discernment; having keen insight; mentally perceptive.
As a gay prisoner my incarceration has given me a perspicacious view of our judicial system.
1982 April 17, David K. Jose, “Habeas Corpus”, in Gay Community News, page 3 - obsoleteAble to physically see clearly; quick-sighted; sharp-sighted.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivementally acute or penetratingly discerning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinperspicax“sharp-sighted”
- Late Latinperspicācitās“discernment”
- Englishperspicacious
First attested 1548, from Late Latin perspicācitās (“discernment”), from Latin perspicax (“sharp-sighted”), from perspiciō (“look through”), from per- (“through”) + speciō (“look at”). See also perspective.
More words from Late Latin, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مُتَبَصِّر
- مُتَبَصِّر (mutabaṣṣir)showing keen insight
Bulgarian проницателен, прозорлив
- проницателен (pronicatelen)showing keen insight
- прозорлив (prozorliv)showing keen insight
- зорък (zorăk)able to physically see clearly
Catalan perspicaç
- perspicaçshowing keen insight
Chinese Mandarin 明察秋毫
- 明察秋毫 (míngchá qiūháo)showing keen insight
Czech bystrý
- bystrýshowing keen insight
Danish klarsynet
- klarsynetshowing keen insight
Dutch scherpzinnig, spitsvondig
- scherpzinnigshowing keen insight
- spitsvondigshowing keen insight
- schrandershowing keen insight
- scherpziendable to physically see clearly
Esperanto akrasenta, akravida
- akrasentashowing keen insight
- akravidashowing keen insight
- akravidaable to physically see clearly
Estonian tähelepanelik
- tähelepanelikshowing keen insight
Finnish tarkkanäköinen
- tarkkanäköinenshowing keen insight
French perspicace, clairvoyant
- perspicaceshowing keen insight
- clairvoyantable to physically see clearly
German scharfsinnig
- scharfsinnigshowing keen insight
Greek οξυδερκής, οξυδερκής
- οξυδερκής (oxyderkís)showing keen insight
- οξυδερκής (oxyderkís)able to physically see clearly
Hindi सूक्ष्मदर्शी
- सूक्ष्मदर्शी (sūkṣmadarśī)showing keen insight
Hungarian tisztánlátó
- tisztánlátóshowing keen insight
Italian perspicace
- perspicaceshowing keen insight
Japanese 明察, 明敏
- 明察 (meisatsu)showing keen insight
- 明敏 (meibin)showing keen insight
- 明達 (meitatsu)showing keen insight
- 明視 (meishi)able to physically see clearly
Korean 명민한, 총기 있는
- 명민한 (myeongminhan)showing keen insight
- 총기 있는 (chonggi inneun)showing keen insight
Latin perspicax, perspicax
- perspicaxshowing keen insight
- perspicaxable to physically see clearly
Lithuanian įžvalgus
- įžvalgusshowing keen insight
Norwegian klarsynt
- klarsyntable to physically see clearly
Norwegian Bokmål skarpsindig
- skarpsindigshowing keen insight
Polish wnikliwy, przenikliwy
- wnikliwyshowing keen insight
- przenikliwyshowing keen insight
- bystryable to physically see clearly
Portuguese perspicaz
- perspicazshowing keen insight
Romanian perspicace
- perspicaceshowing keen insight
Russian проница́тельный, зо́ркий
- проница́тельный (pronicátelʹnyj)showing keen insight
- зо́ркий (zórkij)able to physically see clearly
Slovak bystrý
- bystrýshowing keen insight
Spanish perspicaz
- perspicazshowing keen insight
Swedish klarsynt, klarsynt
- klarsyntshowing keen insight
- klarsyntable to physically see clearly
Turkish zeki
- zekishowing keen insight
Ukrainian прони́кливий
- прони́кливий (pronýklyvyj)showing keen insight
Urdu چتر
- چترshowing keen insight
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with perspicacious
Cite this entry
perspicacious. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perspicacious
“perspicacious.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perspicacious. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “perspicacious,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/perspicacious.
Source: perspicacious on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.