Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The character of being witty; the quality of being ingenious or clever.
- noun Something that is witty; an ingenious invention.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The quality of being witty.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun the quality of being
witty
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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The book's wittiness is derived more from the incongruous circumstances than it is from one-liners (though there are those), and I'm undecided as to whether this is a lost opportunity (could it have been funnier?) or the reason why the humor succeeds (there are several laugh-out-loud moments).
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Sadly, his "wittiness" will be available only in Birmingham.
New Statesman 2010
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I do rather think you might need a touch more than just "wittiness" Ms Coren.
The Guardian World News Victoria Coren 2010
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One of the reasons why I loved this novella so was the unbridled wittiness of the narrative.
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Schauer attended her first tea party rally in 2009 and was impressed with the wittiness of the signs, the upbeat vibe and the detailed critiques of the Federal Reserve and national budget.
For D.C.'s few tea party residents, home can at times feel like enemy territory Steve Hendrix 2011
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So much the better for throwing the wittiness of the gestures into relief.
In Mark Morris Dance Group's anniversary tour, girlpower enchants with grace Sarah Kaufman 2011
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Schauer attended her first tea party rally in 2009 and was impressed with the wittiness of the signs, the upbeat vibe and the detailed critiques of the Federal Reserve and national budget.
For D.C.'s few tea party residents, home can at times feel like enemy territory Steve Hendrix 2011
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But this is made up for by the wittiness of the commentary.
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Schauer attended her first tea party rally in 2009 and was impressed with the wittiness of the signs, the upbeat vibe, and the detailed critiques of the Federal Reserve and national budget.
For D.C.'s few tea party residents, home can at times feel like enemy territory Steve Hendrix 2011
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Schauer attended her first tea party rally in 2009 and was impressed with the wittiness of the signs, the upbeat vibe and the detailed critiques of the Federal Reserve and national budget.
For D.C.'s few tea party residents, home can at times feel like enemy territory Steve Hendrix 2011
bilby commented on the word wittiness
"Then spake Sir Frederick: I cannot denye you, Count Lewis, that writinge is not a maner of speaking. But this I saie, if the wordes that are spoken have any darkenesse in them, that communicacion perceth not the minde of him that heareth: and passing with out being understoode, wexeth vaine and to no purpose: the whiche dothe not happen in writyng, for if the woordes that the writer useth bring with them a litle (I will not saie diffycultie) but covered subtilty, and not so open, as suche as be ordinarily spoken, they geve a certain greater aucthoritye to writing, and make the reader more hedefull to pause at it, and to ponder it better, and he taketh a delyte in the wittinesse and learning of him that writeth, and with a good judgement, after some paines takyng, he tasteth the pleaser that consisteth in harde thinges."
- The Book of the Courtier, translation by Thomas Hoby, 1561.
April 8, 2009