perspicacious
/ˌpɜː.spɪˈkeɪ.ʃəs/
"perspicacious" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“perspicacious” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of acute discernment; having keen insight; mentally perceptive.
Corpus desk
Index EN-perspicacious · perspicacious · English
perspicacious · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 13 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | perspicacious |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌpɜː.spɪˈkeɪ.ʃəs/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “perspicacious” in English
Rare enough to double-check
perspicacious is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌpɜː.spɪˈkeɪ.ʃəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for perspicacious in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested 1548, from Late Latin perspicācitās (“discernment”), from Latin perspicax (“sharp-sighted”), from perspiciō (“look through”), from per- (“through”) + speciō (“look at”). See also perspective. The correct English form is perspicacious, spelled P-E-R-S-P-I-C-A-C-I-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Of acute discernment; having keen insight; mentally perceptive.
- 2Able to physically see clearly; quick-sighted; sharp-sighted.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how perspicacious appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
As a gay prisoner my incarceration has given me a perspicacious view of our judicial system.
Etymology
First attested 1548, from Late Latin perspicācitās (“discernment”), from Latin perspicax (“sharp-sighted”), from perspiciō (“look through”), from per- (“through”) + speciō (“look at”). See also perspective.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.