witticism

C1 Topic:Communication
US /ˈwɪt̬.ə.sɪz.əm/ UK /ˈwɪt.ɪ.sɪz.əm/
noun Freq #89561

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    a clever and humorous remark, often with a sharp or ironic edge

    His dry witticism broke the tension in the room.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a clever and humorous... quipwisecrackbon motepigram
Word family
Related forms witwittywordplay

Etymology

Coined by John Dryden in the 1670s as wittycism, from witty on the model of criticism; the spelling soon settled as witticism.

Topics

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