wits
Sense and cleverness
Wits are mental faculties—the capacity for thinking, reasoning, and responding quickly.
Someone who lives by their wits relies on cleverness rather than steady employment.
To gather your wits is to collect yourself mentally.
Scared out of my wits means terrified beyond rational thought.
A battle of wits is a contest of intelligence.
To be at your wit's end is to have exhausted your mental resources and not know what to do next.
Humorous statement seeking laughter
- punWordplay using double meanings
- banterPlayful, teasing exchange
- quipBrief, clever remark
- jestHumorous remark or act
wisecrack · repartee · wordplay · cleverness · drollery · satirist · raconteur · comedian
Mental reasoning capacity
- brainpowerIntellectual capacity
- acumenSharpness of mind
- astutenessShrewd perceptiveness
- shrewdnessKeen practical judgment
cunning · sagacity · perspicacity · insight · sharpness · brilliance · genius · cognition
Mentally rapid, resourceful
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
- guileSly, strategic dishonesty
- street smartsPractical urban knowledge
- survival instinctsInborn drive to stay alive
improvisation · adaptability · ingenuity · craftiness · nimbleness · alertness · presence of mind · agility
Means of perception
- marblesSmall spherical game pieces
- facultiesInnate powers of mind
- soundnessReliability of structure
- lucidityClearness of mind
reason · sanity · composure · clearheadedness · balance · stability · rationality · judgment
Game between opponents
- duelPrearranged one-on-one combat
- showdownDecisive final confrontation
- contestOrganized competitive event
- competitionStruggle for supremacy
sparring · outsmarting · chess · game · strategy · tactics · maneuvering · gambit
joke
Humorous statement seeking laughter
jest · wisecrack · repartee · wordplay · cleverness · drollery · satirist · raconteur · comedian · jester
intellect
Mental reasoning capacity
- brainpowerIntellectual capacity
- acumenSharpness of mind
- astutenessShrewd perceptiveness
shrewdness · cunning · sagacity · perspicacity · insight · sharpness · brilliance · genius · cognition · reasoning
quick-thinking
Mentally rapid, resourceful
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
- guileSly, strategic dishonesty
- street smartsPractical urban knowledge
survival instincts · improvisation · adaptability · ingenuity · craftiness · nimbleness · alertness · presence of mind · agility · dexterity
senses
Means of perception
lucidity · reason · sanity · composure · clearheadedness · balance · stability · rationality · judgment · self-possession
match
Game between opponents
- duelPrearranged one-on-one combat
- showdownDecisive final confrontation
- contestOrganized competitive event
competition · sparring · outsmarting · chess · game · strategy · tactics · maneuvering · gambit · ploy
- humoristshumorists, satirists, comics, comedians, jokers
- Resourcefulnessresourcefulness, ingenuity, cleverness, inventiveness, problem-solving
- criticscritic, critics, criticizer, criticizers, faultfinder
- word loverslogophile, logophiles, word nerd, word nerds, wordsmith
witsstupidity
Lack of intelligence
dullness · witlessness · idiocy · obtuseness · slow-wittedness
witspanic
Uncontrollable sudden fear
confusion · disorientation · befuddlement · bewilderment · scatterbrainedness
- witness intimidationThreatening courtroom testifiers
- wits' endLimit of mental resources
- at wit's endUtterly without solutions
- wit's endLimit of patience
- bear witnessGive evidence formally
- dry witUnderstated, ironic humor
wit, witness, witty, nitwit, dimwit, outwit, twit, witless, witticism