ˈwid.]ē, -it], ]i\ adjective
( usually -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wittig, from wit (II) + -ig -y
1.
a. chiefly dialect : having good mental capacity : clever , intelligent
b. obsolete : possessed of cunning or craftiness especially in intrigue : wily
2.
a. : evincing or requiring good mental capacity : clever in conception : ingenious or subtle in expression
fallacies … concealed in florid, witty or involved discourses — John Locke
architecture as elaborate and costly as it was ingenious and witty — John Summerson
the costumes are sumptuous and witty — Virgil Thomson
b. obsolete : skillfully contrived for an evil purpose : ingeniously and cunningly devised
the most witty and exquisite torments — John Scott †1695
3. : marked by or full of wit : amusingly or cleverly novel (as in expression or point of view) : smartly facetious or jocular
one of the wittiest books in English — Irving Howe
makes a number of wise and witty comments — S.K.Padover
4.
a. : possessing wit : quick or ready in the perception or expression of amusing points of view and of intellectually entertaining congruities and incongruities : brightly or cleverly facetious
unpredictably witty , eloquent, and satirical in his sermons — G.H.Genzmer
seeks to establish the picture of witty and adroit parliamentarian — New York Times
b. obsolete : sharply critical : sarcastic
so unmercifully witty upon the women — Joseph Addison
Synonyms:
humorous , facetious , jocular , jocose : witty suggests cleverness, quickness, and sparkle of mind especially in repartee, sometimes caustic
the witty treatment of beauty as a coin that shines by being kept current — Cleanth Brooks
she was clever, witty, brilliant, and sparkling beyond most of her kind — Rudyard Kipling
everybody was being exquisitely witty at their expense — Roy Lewis & Angus Maude
humorous is generic, applying to anything that provokes laughter, usually genial
broad smiles broke out on the faces of the friends. Sometimes, they thought, life was very, very humorous — John Steinbeck
physicists have a little humorous puzzle which asks: How can you prove that the temperature of Hell is uniform — Warren Weaver
wizened humorous physiognomy long ago earned him the nickname of Prune-face — J.A.Coleman
facetious usually applies to clumsy or inappropriate jesting or somewhat derogatorily to attempts at wittiness or humorousness that please their maker more than others
scowl at all facetious remarks at his expense
used to be merely facetious as often as he was funny — New York Herald Tribune Book Review
jocular can mean playfully humorous but usually implies a fondness for joking, suggesting strongly a temperamental desire to keep others amused
in these careless days he was always gleeful and jocular, even as afterwards his entire saintly life was glad with an invincible gaiety of spirit — H.O.Taylor
the watercolor lesson enlivened by the jocular conversation of the kindly, humorous old man was always great fun — Joseph Conrad
jocose is close to facetious though less derogatory, suggesting a habitual waggishness or sportiveness
sometimes composed something gay and even jocose — J.N.Forkel
considered it a laughable affair, and was continually bobbing his head out the galley door to make jocose remarks — Jack London
colonies of tiny shingled shacks, each labeled clearly with its sentimental or jocose name — F.L.Allen