Virgil ThomsonWolcott Gibbs
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Witty and Wise
When we call someone witty, we are typically ascribing to them the quality of clever humor. This has not always been the case: witty (and the word it is formed from, wit) originally referred to intelligence or good judgment. Although the “mentally capable” meaning of witty has largely become obsolete, we still see vestiges of it in various expressions involving wit, such as wit and wisdom or out of one’s wits. Another phrase, to wit, meaning “that is, namely,” comes directly from the Middle English to witen (“to know”).
Examples of witty in a Sentence
Tobias Wolff, Old School, 2003
… when she walked up to me and made a caustic remark on the principal's address of the morning, I couldn't help laughing, as she was obviously not only intelligent but very witty.
—Margaret A. Edwards, The Fair Garden and the Swarm of Beasts, 1994
Yet for all his solemnity, Hamlet was also the play's and Shakespeare's wittiest wit, with as many one-liners as any comic in the whole canon.
—Reed Whittemore, Pure Lives, 1988
a witty talk show host
a witty and sardonic blogger who never fails to amuse his legion of readers
Jan Swafford, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2024
The stop motion animation and detailed character design and execution is nothing short of wonderful, and the script by Mark Burton, who developed the story over several years with Park, is witty and winning.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2024
Hayley is gorgeous, intelligent, charming, witty and the new fiancée of Dani Dupree’s ex-husband, Bill Hamilton.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 25 Oct. 2024
As one of the Dylan personas in Todd Haynes’s unconventional biopic, Blanchett was handed a plum part: the singer-songwriter of the Don’t Look Back era, a bratty, witty young man happy to conquer the planet while on tour in England.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 18 Oct. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near witty
Cite this Entry
“Witty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/witty. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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