as in cute
making light of something usually regarded as serious or sacred
the comedian's wiseass monologue about terrorism was greeted with stony silence
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in wiseacre
a person who likes to show off in a clever but annoying way
fine, you're right, but there was no reason to be such a wiseass while pointing out the error
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of wiseass
David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 5 Feb. 2026
One year after his debut in Top Secret! and one year before stepping up as Top Gun's Iceman, Kilmer led Martha Coolidge's comedy Real Genius, playing a Caltech wiz-kid (and hard-partying wiseass) tasked with designing a chemical laser.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 2 Apr. 2025
But since the emergence of a kinder, gentler Deadpool in the wiseass character’s first stand-alone movie, Wade has carried on a long-distance flirtation with Wolverine.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 July 2024
His expression was again lightly sardonic: a Jewish wiseass, a natural resister and conspirator, one maybe even handicapped in that role by looking too much the part.
—John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
There’s more of Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman this time around, too, though the iconic wiseass gets exactly one (1) decent line that’s already been trailered and memed to death.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, Hart plays seasoned mercenary Roland and Black plays wiseass robot Claptrap.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024
Nick is the self-deprecating wiseass.
—Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 31 Mar. 2023
No one’s better at playing a low-key wiseass.
—BostonGlobe.com, 19 Aug. 2021
Noun
As disarming as Rockwell is with his wry balance of doofus, savant and wiseass, and as capable as Verbinski is at keeping the brushes with death coming at a sustained pace, the movie feels most original in its flashbacks.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 5 Feb. 2026
One year after his debut in Top Secret! and one year before stepping up as Top Gun's Iceman, Kilmer led Martha Coolidge's comedy Real Genius, playing a Caltech wiz-kid (and hard-partying wiseass) tasked with designing a chemical laser.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 2 Apr. 2025
But since the emergence of a kinder, gentler Deadpool in the wiseass character’s first stand-alone movie, Wade has carried on a long-distance flirtation with Wolverine.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 July 2024
His expression was again lightly sardonic: a Jewish wiseass, a natural resister and conspirator, one maybe even handicapped in that role by looking too much the part.
—John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
There’s more of Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman this time around, too, though the iconic wiseass gets exactly one (1) decent line that’s already been trailered and memed to death.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, Hart plays seasoned mercenary Roland and Black plays wiseass robot Claptrap.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024
Nick is the self-deprecating wiseass.
—Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 31 Mar. 2023
No one’s better at playing a low-key wiseass.
—BostonGlobe.com, 19 Aug. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wiseass
Adjective
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The Puppy Bowl isn’t just cute — it’s built around adoption, heart and moments that matter beyond Super Bowl Sunday.—
Kelsey Monstrola,
USA Today,
7 Feb. 2026
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Don’t be shy when playing around with colors, patterns, and cute Galentine’s motifs.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The 40-year-old singer Ryan Davis, a cowboy wiseacre with a drum machine and the patience for 11-minute anthems, riffs merrily on such existential mysteries.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
12 Dec. 2025
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In 1982’s hit action comedy 48 Hours, a young Eddie Murphy plays a wiseacre criminal on parole in order to help a veteran cop, played by Nick Nolte, solve a case.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The wise guys already view Denver suspiciously, casting them with the 12th-best odds to reach the Super Bowl next February.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2026
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Framing wise guys on murder charges for Whitey Bulger, looking the other way on a gangland hit by a BPD detective in Canton in 1976, the list of scandals is too great to even list them all.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Agnes came from a family of smarties.—
Bea L. Hines,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
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The suffix -y here is the same as in words like doggy or smarty, used to form nicknames or informal descriptors.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Also, the movie knows when to ease up on the wisenheimer instinct.—
Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Sep. 2023
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Stan is a bit of a wisenheimer, and Sandler puts his natural yappiness to good use.—
Mark Feeney,
BostonGlobe.com,
9 June 2022
Noun
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This fuzzy, snout-nosed, smart aleck extraterrestrial whose name was Gordon Shumway crashed in the suburban garage of the Tanner family in California after escaping from the doomed planet of Melmac, which was destroyed by nuclear war.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
24 Aug. 2025
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Newton scored and so did backcourt mate Cam Spencer, that different style of smart aleck, who had 20.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
13 June 2024
Cite this Entry
“Wiseass.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wiseass. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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