wit
[noun]
Synonyms:
- humour, badinage, banter, drollery, jocularity, raillery, repartee, wordplay
- humorist, card (informal), comedian, joker, wag
- cleverness, acumen, brains, common sense, ingenuity, intellect, sense, wisdom

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Antonyms: witlessness
Contrasted words: aberration, craziness, derangement, insanity, lunacy, madness, mania, aridity, dullness, prosaicness, unimaginativeness, fatuity, foolishness, inanity, silliness, stupidity
Related Words: perspicacity, sagacity, apprehension, awareness, comprehension, balance, rationality, grasp, insight, perception, understanding, prudence, sagaciousness, sageness, sapience, wisdom, clairvoyance, divination, ESP, sensing, alertness, keenness, quick-wittedness, brilliance, cleverness, intelligence, smartness

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

wit /wɪt/ noun
[Language: Old English; Origin: 'knowledge, intelligence']

1. AMUSING [uncountable] the ability to say things that are clever and amusing:
a woman of great wit and charm
quick/dry/sharp etc wit
His sharp wit had them all smiling.

2. AMUSING PERSON [countable] someone who is able to say clever and amusing things

3. wits [plural] your ability to think quickly and make the right decisions:
Alone and penniless, I was forced to live on my wits.
keep/have your wits about you (=be ready to think quickly and do what is necessary in a difficult situation)

4. frighten/scare/terrify somebody out of their wits informal to frighten someone very much:
I was terrified out of my wits at the very idea.

5. gather/collect/recover etc your wits to make yourself think about what you are going to do next after you have been surprised by something:
I felt helpless, but tried to gather my wits.

6. pit your wits against somebody to compete against someone in a test of knowledge or intelligence

7. be at your wits’ end to be very upset and not know what to do, because you have tried everything possible to solve a problem

8. have the wit to do something formal to be clever enough to know the right thing to do:
Thankfully, Reid had the wit to see what was wrong with the plan.

9. not be beyond the wit of somebody formal not be too difficult for someone to do:
It’s surely not beyond the wit of man to come up with a solution.

10. to wit old use formal used to introduce additional information which makes it clear exactly who or what you are talking about Synonym : namely:
This does not stop me giving you a little treat. To wit, an invitation to dine at Brown’s.
⇒ battle of wits at battle¹(5), ⇒ half-wit, ⇒ live by your wits at live¹(15), ⇒ outwit, quick-witted, witty

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

wit
noun
I. clever use of words
ADJ. great | quick, ready | acerbic, barbed, biting, caustic, dry, sarcastic, sardonic, scathing, sharp, wicked | gentle | dazzling, sparkling
VERB + WIT have He had a dry wit.
PHRASES wit and wisdom a book full of the wit and wisdom of his 30 years in politics

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

wit
II. intelligence
ADJ. native She had to use all her native wit to convince the police.
VERB + WIT have I hope he's got the wit to take the key with him.
PHRASES beyond the wit of man (= impossible) It should not be beyond the wit of man to resolve this dispute

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

wit
III. wits: ability to think quickly
VERB + WIT gather, recover She couldn't seem to gather her wits and tell us what had happened.
blunt, dull Living alone in the country had dulled his wits.
sharpen
PHRASES a battle of wits The strike developed into a battle of wits between management and workers.
have/keep your wits about you They do tough interviews so you'll need to have your wits about you.
pit your wits against sb Celebrity teams pit their wits against each other in this lively quiz show.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

wit
wɪt
See: at one's wits' end , keep one's head or keep one's wits about one , scare out of one's wits

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲