savvy
English · Thesaurus
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savvy
- /ˈsæv.i/ Australia, Canada, UK
Rhymes with -ævi
Where it comes from
Alteration of save, sabi (“to know”) (in English-based creoles and pidgins), from Portuguese sabe (“[she/he] knows”), from saber (“to know”), from Latin sapere (“to taste; to know”). First appears c. 1785 in a dictionary by Francis Grose, as a noun, “practical sense, intelligence”; also a verb, “to know, to understand”. The adjective is first recorded 1905, from the noun.
adjective savvier · savviest
-
Shrewd, well-informed and perceptive.
That such a safe adaptation could come of The Hunger Games speaks more to the trilogy’s commercial ascent than the book’s actual content, which is audacious and savvy in its dark calculations.
Similar: canny
verb savvies · savvying · savvied
- To understand. He's probably a perfect technician as a surgeon, but he knows you get only what you grab. Think of the years it's taken me to learn what he savvied all the time!
noun
-
Shrewdness.
Similar: savviness
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: discernment, understanding, apprehend, apprehension, comprehend, grasp, dig, compass, clever, circumspect, perspicacity, acumen, caution, sophisticated, prudence, wise
Translations
Every language
adj well-informed and perceptive
| Español | sabio, canchero, sabido, sabedor, avezado, conocedor |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 精明能幹的 /精明能干的 jīngmíng nénggàn de |
| Português | sábio, sabido |
| Français | futé, malin |
| Deutsch | clever, klug, schlau |
| Italiano | astuto, furbo |
| Русский | смы́слящий smýsljaščij, сообража́ющий soobražájuščij, продви́нутый prodvínutyj, куме́кающий kumékajuščij, вруба́ющийся vrubájuščijsja |
| العربية | الدهاء aldaha' |
Talk about this word "savvy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/savvy. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. savvy. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/savvy "savvy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/savvy.Cite this
@misc{savvy_2026,
title = {savvy},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/savvy},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
