wit (redirected from live by wits)

wit ¹  (wt)

n.

1. The natural ability to perceive and understand; intelligence.

2.

a. Keenness and quickness of perception or discernment; ingenuity. Often used in the plural: living by one's wits.

b. wits Sound mental faculties; sanity: scared out of my wits.

3.

a. The ability to perceive and express in an ingeniously humorous manner the relationship between seemingly incongruous or disparate things.

b. One noted for this ability, especially one skilled in repartee.

c. A person of exceptional intelligence.

Idioms:

at (one's) wits' end

At the limit of one's mental resources; utterly at a loss.

have/keep (one's) wits about (one)

To remain alert or calm, especially in a crisis.

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[Middle English, from Old English; see weid- in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: wit¹, humor, repartee, sarcasm, irony
These nouns denote forms of expression that elicit amusement or laughter. Wit implies intellectual keenness and the ability to perceive and express in a diverting way analogies between dissimilar things: "Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words" Dorothy Parker.
Humor suggests the faculty of recognizing what is amusing, comical, incongruous, or absurd: "Man's sense of humor seems to be in inverse proportion to the gravity of his profession" Mary Roberts Rinehart.
Repartee implies a facility for answering swiftly and cleverly: "framing comments ... that would be sure to sting and yet leave no opening for repartee" H.G. Wells.
Sarcasm is a form of caustic wit intended to wound or ridicule another: "[His] tone seemed as if meant to be kind and soothing, but yet had a bitterness of sarcasm in it" Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Irony is a form of expression in which an intended meaning is the opposite of the literal meaning of the words used: "A drayman in a passion [a rage] calls out, 'You are a pretty fellow,' without suspecting that he is uttering irony" Thomas Macaulay. See Also Synonyms at mind.

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wit ¹

Noun

1. the ability to use words or ideas in a clever, amusing, and imaginative way

2. a person possessing this ability

3. practical intelligence: do credit me with some wit

See also wits [Old English witt]

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wit ²

Verb

to wit (used to introduce a statement or explanation) that is to say; namely [Old English witan]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	wit - a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter humor, witticism, wittiness, humour subject matter, content, message, substance - what a communication that is about something is about jeu d'esprit - a witty comment or writing bon mot, mot - a clever remark esprit de l'escalier - a witty remark that occurs to you too late pungency, bite - wit having a sharp and caustic quality; "he commented with typical pungency"; "the bite of satire" caustic remark, irony, sarcasm, satire - witty language used to convey insults or scorn; "he used sarcasm to upset his opponent"; "irony is wasted on the stupid"; "Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own"--Jonathan Swift repartee - adroitness and cleverness in reply gag, jape, jest, joke, laugh - a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter; "he told a very funny joke"; "he knows a million gags"; "thanks for the laugh"; "he laughed unpleasantly at his own jest"; "even a schoolboy's jape is supposed to have some ascertainable point" caricature, impersonation, imitation - a representation of a person that is exaggerated for comic effect cartoon, sketch - a humorous or satirical drawing published in a newspaper or magazine fun, sport, play - verbal wit or mockery (often at another's expense but not to be taken seriously); "he became a figure of fun"; "he said it in sport" ribaldry - ribald humor topper - an exceedingly good witticism that surpasses all that have gone before libation - (facetious) a serving of an alcoholic beverage roaster - a harsh or humorous critic (sometimes intended as a facetious compliment); "the honoree gave his roasters as good as he got"
	2.	wit - mental ability; "he's got plenty of brains but no common sense" brainpower, learning ability, mental capacity, mentality, brain intelligence - the ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience
	3.	wit - a witty amusing person who makes jokes wag, card colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech humorist, humourist - someone who acts speaks or writes in an amusing way

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wit

noun 1. humour, fun, quips, banter, puns, pleasantry, repartee, wordplay, levity, witticisms, badinage, jocularity, facetiousness, drollery, raillery, waggishness, wittiness << OPPOSITE seriousness

noun 2. humorist, card (informal) comedian, wag, joker, dag N.Z. (informal) punster, epigrammatist

noun 3. cleverness, mind, reason, understanding, sense, brains, smarts (slang), chiefly U.S. judgment, perception, wisdom, insight, common sense, intellect, comprehension, ingenuity, acumen, nous Brit. (slang) discernment, practical intelligence << OPPOSITE stupidity

Translations

wit [wɪt] n (= wittiness) → ingenio, gracia (= intelligence) (also: wits) → inteligencia;

(person) → chistoso/a;

to have or keep one's wits about one → no perder la cabeza

wit [wɪt] n (also: wits) (= intelligence); intelligence f, esprit m (= presence of mind); présence f d'esprit (= wittiness); esprit (= person); homme/femme d'esprit;

to be at one's wits' end (fig) → ne plus savoir que faire;

to have one's wits about one → avoir toute sa présence d'esprit, ne pas perdre la tête;

to wit adv → à savoir

wit [wɪt] n (= wittiness) → geistreiche Art f;

(person) → geistreicher Mensch m (= presence of mind); Verstand m;

wits npl (intelligence) → Verstand m;

to be at one's wits' end → mit seinem Latein am Ende sein;

to have one's wits about one → einen klaren Kopf haben;

to wit (namely) → und zwar

wit [wɪt] n (gen pl) → intelligenza; presenza di spirito (= wittiness); spirito, arguzia;

(person) → bello spirito;

to be at one's wits' end (fig) → non sapere più cosa fare;

to have or keep one's wits about one → avere presenza di spirito;

to wit adv → cioè

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wit

n wit [wit]

1 humour; the ability to express oneself in an amusing way His plays are full of wit; I admire his wit.humorمِزاج مَرِح، خِفَّة دَمдуховитостhumor, vtipnostvidder Witzπνεύμα, χιούμορagudeza, ingenio, chispa, graciavaimukusلطافت طبعnokkeluusespritשְׁנִינוּתहाजिर-जवाबीhumor, duhovitostszellemességhumorfyndni, hnyttnispirito機知기지, 재치sąmojishumors; asprātībabersemangat; bijak dan lucu; pendapat yang tajamspitsheidvidd, vittighet, åndfullhetdowcipgraçaspiritостроумиеhumor, vtipnosť, duchaplnosťduhovitostduhovitostslagfärdighetแสดงความตลกขบขันnükte, espri幽默妙語дотепністьظرافتsự hóm hỉnh幽默妙语

2 a person who expresses himself in a humorous way, tells jokes etc He's a great wit.humoristiese persoonشَخْص مَشْهور بِنكاتِه وتَعْليقاتِه الظَّريفَهдуховит човекvtipný člověkvittigt hovedwitziger Kopfπνευματώδης άνθρωπος, χιουμορίσταςpersona salada, chistoso, ingeniosonaljahammas, lõuapoolikبذله گويىvitsiniekkahomme, femme d'espritשָׁנוּןहाजिर-जवाबšaljivdžijaszellemes emberorang humorisorðheppinn maður(persona spiritosa)機知に富んだ人재사, 기지 있는 사람humoristasasprātis; atjautīgs cilvēksbijak dalam berjenakagevat iemandslagferdig person, vittig hodedowcipniśhumoristaom inte­ligentостроумный человекvtipný človekduhovitežduhovit čovekkvickhuvud, spirituell personผู้มีเชาว์ปัญญาnüktedan富於幽默感的人дотепникظریف الطبع شخصngười hóm hỉnh富于幽默感的人

3 common sense, inventiveness etc He did not have the wit to defend himself.gesonde verstandبَديهَه، فِطْنَهразумdůvtip; inteligencedet, der skal tilgeistige Fähigkeitεξυπνάδα, ευστροφίαjuicio, inteligenciataipهوشjärkibon sensהֲבָנָה, תוֹבָנָהबुद्धिzdrav razumleleményességakalskynsemibuon senso分別상식; 창의력nuovoka, protasatjautība; attapība; apķērībakecerdasan otakverstandvettrozumsensobun simţум; сообразительностьdôvtip; inteligenciazdrav razumrazboritostvett, förståndความมีไหวพริบanlayış, akıl, zekâ創造性розумسمجھtrí thông minh创造性

adj ˈwitless

crazy, stupid etc. domغَبي،أخْرَق، عَديم الذَّكاءглупавhloupýtåbeliggeistlosάμυαλοςestúpidokohtlaneاحمقvähäjärkinenstupideטִיפֵּשनासमझlud, glupostobabodohvitlaus, heimskursciocco愚かな분별없는, 어리석은kvailas, neprotingasbez prāta; stulbs; trulsbodoh; gilahersenloosgal, uten vett, tåpeligtępyestúpidostupidбезмозглыйhlúpyneduhovitglupenfaldig, dumโง่aptal, akılsız愚蠢的безглуздий, нерозумнийبے وقوفngốc ngếch愚蠢的

-witted

having understanding or intelligence of a certain kind quick-/sharp-witted.slim, kundigذو ذكاءٍ-умен...ducha(snar-)rådig; (skarp-)sindig; (slag-)færdig....-denkendμε μυαλό (ως β΄ συνθ.)de comprensión (...)-arulineهوشälyinenà l'esprit (...)מְהִיר תְּפִיסָהहाजिर-जवाब-razumanvmilyen észjárásúberakal-gáfaður(d'ingegno...)知恵が－の「이해력이 ...한, 두뇌가 ...한」이란 뜻의 연결형-protoapķērīgs/neapķērīgscepat menangkap dengan cepatvan begrip(snar)-rådig, (skarp)-sindig, (slag)-ferdigo ... dowcipie/rozumiede compreensão (rápida, etc.)cu spi­rit...ум-vtipnýki je (...) pameti-uman-tänkt, -sinnigซึ่งมีสติปัญญา... akıllı, zekî...智能的той, що з певним розумомدانشمندcó trí óc...智能的

n ˈwitticism [-sizəm]

a witty remark etc. kwinkslagمُلْحَه، لَطيفَهдуховита забележкаduchaplnostvittighedwitzige Bemerkungευφυολόγημα, έξυπνη παρατήρησηocurrencia, agudeza, salidateravmeelsusعاقلsukkeluusmot d'espritהֶעָרָה שְׁנוּנָהमजेदारduhovita opaskaszellemes megjegyzéskomentar lucufyndni, hnyttniarguziaしゃれ경구, 재담sąmojinga pastaba, sąmojisasprātībakata-kata yang penuh kejenakaangevatte opmerkingvittighet, åndfullhetdowcipne powiedzeniechistevorbă de duhостроумное замечаниеduchaplnosťduhovita opazkadosetkakvickhetคำคมşaka, espri, nükte打趣話，妙語дотепبذلہ سنجیnhận xét dí dỏm打趣话，妙语

adj ˈwitty

clever and amusing a witty person; witty remarks.humoristieseفَكِه، ظَريف ، حاضِر البديهَهостроуменvtipnývittigwitzigπνευματώδηςingenioso, agudo, salado, graciosoteravmeelneبا هوشnokkelaspirituelשָנוּןहाजिर-जवाबीduhovitszellemespintar dan lucufyndinn, hnyttinnspiritoso機知に富んだ기지 있는, 재기 발랄한sąmojingasasprātīgspenuh jenaka; cerdas dan pandai berjenakagevatslagferdig, vittig, åndfulldowcipnyespirituosospiritualостроумныйvtipnýduhovitdosetljivkvick, slagfärdig, spirituellซึ่งใช้คำพูดอย่างมีไหวพริบnükteli, hazır cevap詼諧的дотепнийچالاک اور بذلہ سنجhóm hỉnh诙谐的

adv ˈwittily

humoristiesبِظَرافَه، بِفُكاهَهостроумноvtipněvittigtwitzigμε χιούμορingeniosamenteteravmeelseltهوشمندانهnokkelastiavec beaucoup d'espritבִּשנִינוּתहाजिर-जवाबी के साथduhovitoszellemesensecara pintarhnyttilegain maniera spiritosa面白おかしく재치 있게sąmojingaiasprātīgisecara sedar; dgn sengajagevatslagferdig, vittig, åndfulltdowcipniecom espíritospiritual; cu spiritостроумноvtipneduhovitodosetljivokvickt, slagfärdigt, spirituelltโดยใช้คำพูดอย่างมีไหวพริบnükteli, zekîce, hazırcevaplılıkla情趣橫溢地дотепноچالاکی سےmột cách hóm hỉnh情趣横溢地

n ˈwittiness

humoristiesheidفُكاهَه، ظَرافَه، بديهَةٍ حاضِرَهостроумиеvtipnostvid; slagfærdigheddie Witzigkeitπνεύμαingenio, agudezateravmeelsusهوشمندälykkyyshumourשְׁנִינוּתहाजिर-जवाबीduhovitostszellemességkepintaranhnyttni, fyndnispirito才知재치 있음, 재기 발랄함sąmojingumasasprātīgums; apķērīgumstidak sengajagevatheidvidd, slagferdighetdowciphumorumorостроумиеvtipnosťduhovitostdosetljivostkvickhet, slagfärdighet, spiritualitetการใช้คำพูดอย่างมีไหวพริบzekâ, hazır cevaplılık機敏дотепністьبذلہ سنجیtính chất hóm hỉnh机敏

at one's wits' end

utterly confused and desperate. desperaat, verwardفي حَيْرَةٍ من أمْرِهобъркан и отчаянs rozumem v koncíchikke ane sine levende rådam Ende seiner Weisheitσε απόγνωση, σε πλήρη σύγχυσηdesesperadotarkus on otsasگیج شدهpoissa tolaltaanà bout de ressourcesאוֹבֵד עֵצוֹתबहुत हताशzbunjen, očajanmegáll az eszeputus asavita ekki sitt rjúkandi ráðperplesso途方にくれて어찌할 바를 몰라visiškai pasimetęsnezināt, ko iesākt; bez padomakeliru dan kecewa; bingungten einde raadikke vite sin arme rådw kropcedesvairadola capătul puterilorв отчаянииs rozumom v koncochpri kraju s pametjozbunjeninte veta varken ut eller inจนปัญญาapışıp kalmış, ne yapacağını şaşırmış智窮計盡зніяковілийایسی حالت جس میں عقل کام نہ کرےvô phương智穷计尽

keep one's wits about one

to be cautious, alert and watchful. versigtig weesيَكونُ حَذِرا أو مُحْتَرِساвнимавамvzít rozum do hrstiholde hovedet koldteinen klaren Kopf behaltenέχω τα μάτια μου δεκατέσσεραestar despabilado, no perder la cabezaterane olemaمراقب یکی بودنolla varuillaanrester attentifלְהִישָאֵר דָרוּךसतर्क रहनाbiti pozoraneszénél vanhati-hatihalda ró sinni og skÿrri hugsun(stare all'erta)抜け目ない빈틈이 없다, 방심하지 않고 두루 정신 쓰다neprarasti galvosbūt modram; saņemt visus prātuspeka; tajambij elkaar zijn verstand houdenholde hodet kaldt, passe på som en smedbyć czujnym, nie w ciemię bitymficar alertaa fi precautне растерятьсяvziať rozum do hrstibiti budenbiti oprezanhålla huvudet kalltรอบคอบuyanık olmak, paniğe kapılmamak保持警覺не розгубитисяچوکس ہوناcảnh giác保持警觉

live by one's wits

to live by cunning rather than by hard work. as jy nie sterk is nie, moet jy slim weesيَكْسَب رِزْقَه بالمَكْرпрехранвам се с хитриниživit se hlavouleve af at snyde folksich durch's Leben schlagenζω με κομπίνεςvivir del cuentohõlbuelu elama, nihverdamaزیرکانه زندگی کردنkeinotella elantonsavivre d'expédientsלְהִתפַּרנֵס בְּצוּרָה עַרמוּמִיתमेहनत की जगह अकल की कमाई खानाživjeti od pametimáról-holnapra élhidup dengan kelicikanbjarga sér á klókindum(vivere di espedienti)抜け目のなさで生きる잔재주로 둘러 맞추다, 교묘히 임시 변통하다suktis, gudrumu pelnytis duonąbūt (dzīvē) apsviedīgam; pamanītieshidup dengan kepintaran otakop bijdehande manier aan de kost komenleve av å lure folkżyć z kombinowaniaviver de expedientesa trăi de pe o zi pe altaжить на сомнительные доходыžiť z vlastnej šikovnostiživeti od svoje prebrisanostipreživljavati lukavstvomleva på sin intelligensหาเงินอย่างทุจริตaçık gözlülükle geçinmek靠耍手腕過日子викручуватисяطرح طرح کی چالاکیوں سے روزی کماناsống nhờ sự xảo quyệt靠耍手腕过日子

(frighten/scare) out of one's wits

(to frighten) (almost) to the point of madness The sight of the gun in his hand scared me out of my wits.asvaal skrikيَدْفَعُ إلى الجُنون، يُفْقِدُه عَقْلَهобезумявам от страхvyděsit k smrtiskræmme fra vid og sanszu Tode erschreckenτρελαίνομαι, τρομάζω πάρα πολύestar muerto de miedopoolsurnuks ehmatamaاز هوش رفتنpelästyttää puolikuoliaaksifaire une peur bleue (à)לְהַפחִיד עַד מָווֶתदहशत में आनाprestrašiti do ludilahalálra rémül vmitőlmembuat sangat takutgera/vera viti sÿnu fjær(spaventare molto)気も狂うほど제정신을 잃을 정도로 (놀라게 하다)mirtinai ką (išgąsdinti)pārbiedēt līdz nāveihilang akalgek, buiten zichzelfskremme vettet avnapędzić strachadar um susto dos diabosa speria de moarte(чуть не) до смерти (напугать)vystrašiť na smrťna smrt prestrašitiprestrašitiskrämma vettet urทำให้กลัวödünü patlatmak不知所措до смертіخوف زدہ ہوناsợ hết hồn不知所措