sapience

noun

ˈsā-pē-ən(t)s How to pronounce sapience (audio)
Definition of sapiencenext
as in insight
the ability to understand inner qualities or relationships the kind of sapience that comes from a lifetime of experience as an educator

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sapience Some people go the other way and say that sapience alone might be enough. — IEEE Spectrum, 23 Jan. 2025 Stories of such yearnings also illustrate a key requirement for sapience: resistance to oppression. — Katherine Alejandra Cross, WIRED, 7 Sep. 2023 This seeming truth is said with a kind of sleepy sapience, as though only the naïve or the self-deluded would imagine anything otherwise. — Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sapience
  1. insight
  2. intellect
Noun
  • Any insight into the enigma that is Warsh, the new chairman of the Federal Reserve, is of use to Wall Street and economists around the world.
    — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 3 July 2026
  • The rerelease includes exclusive insight from Leonard Maltin.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 3 July 2026
Definition of insight
Noun
  • His ebullience, keen intellect and warmth jump off the pages.
    — John Blake, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
  • Recognizing her extraordinary intellect, the Wheatley family educated her, and by age 20 her poetry had earned publication in London.
    — Robin Follman, Oc Register, 4 July 2026
Definition of intellect

Browse Nearby Words

sapid
sapience
sapient
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Cite this Entry

“Sapience.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sapience. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on sapience

Nglish: Translation of sapience for Spanish Speakers

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