Standard Lemma guide

witticism

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK, US: /ˈwɪ.tɪ.sɪz.əm/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

a witty remark; a bon mot; an epigram; a zinger.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: wit, humor, humour, wittiness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: message, content, subject matter, substance

Narrower terms: jeu d'esprit, bon mot, mot, esprit de l'escalier, pungency, bite, sarcasm, irony, satire, caustic remark, repartee, joke, gag, laugh, jest, jape, caricature, imitation, impersonation, cartoon, sketch, fun, play, sport, ribaldry, topper

History

Etymology

From witty + -icism; coined in the 1670s by John Dryden, by analogy to criticism.

Across languages

Translations

44 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: acudit — witty remark
  • Chinese Mandarin: 妙語 /妙语 (miàoyǔ) — witty remark
  • Chinese Mandarin: 雋語 /隽语 (juànyǔ) — witty remark
  • Chinese Mandarin: 俏皮話 /俏皮话 (qiàopíhuà) — witty remark
  • Chinese Mandarin: 諧語 /谐语 (xiéyǔ) — witty remark
  • Dutch: kwinkslag — witty remark
  • Esperanto: ŝerco — witty remark
  • Finnish: sukkeluus — witty remark
  • French: mot d'esprit — witty remark
  • French: trait d'esprit — witty remark
  • German: (guter) Spruch — witty remark
  • German: geflügeltes Wort — witty remark
  • German: Bonmot — witty remark
  • German: witzige Bemerkung — witty remark
  • German: geistreiche Bemerkung — witty remark
  • Italian: freddura — witty remark
  • Italian: battuta — witty remark
  • Italian: frizzo — witty remark
  • Italian: spiritosità — witty remark
  • Italian: spiritosaggine — witty remark
  • Italian: arguzia — witty remark
  • Latin: dictum — witty remark
  • Latin: dictērium — witty remark
  • Plautdietsch: Witsichkjeit — witty remark
  • Polish: dowcip — witty remark
  • Russian: остро́та (ostróta) — witty remark
  • Spanish: lindeza — witty remark
  • Spanish: humorada — witty remark
  • Spanish: ocurrencia — witty remark
  • Spanish: argucia — witty remark
  • Spanish: donaire — witty remark
  • Spanish: volada — witty remark
  • Spanish: donosura — witty remark
  • Spanish: remoquete — witty remark
  • Spanish: remoque — witty remark
  • Spanish: graciosidad — witty remark
  • Spanish: gracieta — witty remark
  • Spanish: viveza — witty remark
  • Spanish: vivez (desus.) — witty remark
  • Swedish: kvickhet — witty remark
  • Thai: คําคม (kam-kom) — witty remark
  • Turkish: nükte — witty remark
  • Ottoman Turkish: لطیفه (latife) — witty remark
  • Welsh: ffraetheb — witty remark