wits
wits Lexical Profile
wits Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The capacity for quick, practical thinking, resourcefulness, and mental composure, especially in difficult or unexpected situations.
"The experienced hiker kept her wits about her when the sudden snowstorm obscured the mountain trail."
A person's basic mental faculties, sanity, or state of rational awareness.
"The sudden, loud thunderclap nearly scared the poor dog out of its wits."
Plural form of wit: people who are notable for their clever, amusing, and quick-minded humor.
"The literary salon was frequented by the sharpest wits and essayists of the nineteenth century."
Word Nuance & Usage
While singular "wit" typically refers to clever, quick-minded humor, plural "wits" refers to overall mental sharpness, composure, or sanity (as in "keep one's wits about one" or "at one's wits' end").
• Rhymes for wits
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English gewit ('understanding, intellect, consciousness'), derived from the Proto-Germanic root *wit- ('to know, to see'), related to Latin videre ('to see').