perspicacious
- Having a ready insight into and understanding of things; showing sharp judgment and keen perception.
In a sentence
- A perspicacious reader will notice the subtle foreshadowing the author plants in the novel's opening pages.
- The detective's perspicacious questioning quickly revealed the inconsistencies in the suspect's alibi.
Usage note. Do not confuse 'perspicacious' (having sharp insight) with 'perspicuous' (expressing ideas clearly and transparently) — one describes a quality of the observer, the other of the expression.
Where it comes from
English perspicacious · entered English early 17th c.
From Latin 'perspicax' (genitive 'perspicacis'), meaning 'sharp-sighted' or 'clear-seeing,' derived from 'perspicere' — a compound of 'per-' (through) and 'specere' (to look). The word entered English in the early 17th century. It shares its Latin root 'specere' with 'spectacle,' 'inspect,' and 'perspective,' all involving the concept of looking or seeing.