First Known Use: before 12th century
Dictionary
witty
adjective wit·ty \ˈwi-tē\
: funny and clever
wit·ti·erwit·ti·est
Full Definition of WITTY
1
archaic : having good intellectual capacity : intelligent
2
: amusingly or ingeniously clever in conception or execution <the costumes are sumptuous and witty — Virgil Thomson> <the musical background is … often witty — Wolcott Gibbs>
3
: marked by or full of clever humor or wit: smartly facetious or jocular <a witty novel>
4
: quick or ready to see or express illuminating or amusing relationships or insights <a witty raconteur>
— wit·ti·ly \ˈwi-tə-lē\ adverb
— wit·ti·ness \ˈwi-tē-nəs\ noun
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Examples of WITTY
- We'd kept everything witty and cool, until the air between us was so ironized that to say anything in earnest would have been a breach of manners, even of trust. —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
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Origin of WITTY
(see 2wit)
Synonym Discussion of WITTY
witty, humorous, facetious, jocular, jocose mean provoking or intended to provoke laughter. witty suggests cleverness and quickness of mind <a witty remark>. humorous applies broadly to anything that evokes usually genial laughter and may contrast with witty in suggesting whimsicality or eccentricity <humorous anecdotes>. facetious stresses a desire to produce laughter and may be derogatory in implying dubious or ill-timed attempts at wit or humor <facetious comments>. jocular implies a usually habitual fondness for jesting and joking <a jocular fellow>. jocose is somewhat less derogatory than facetious in suggesting habitual waggishness or playfulness <jocose proposals>.
WITTIER Defined for Kids
witty
adjective wit·ty \ˈwi-tē\
wit·ti·erwit·ti·est
Definition of WITTY for Kids
: having or showing cleverness <a witty person> <a witty remark>
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