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perspicacity

Other forms: perspicacities

If you devote long hours to the arts of attention and analysis, you might develop the perspicacity required to become a really good detective.

Perspicacity comes from the Latin word for penetrating sight. If you have perspicacity, you are good at discerning what is really going on where others might only see surface clues. Perspicacity is a quality that many professionals need, from detectives to doctors to therapists. If someone is perspicacious, we might also say they have a "shrewd mind," or a "keen intelligence."

Definitions of perspicacity
  1. noun
    the capacity to assess situations or circumstances shrewdly and to draw sound conclusions
    synonyms: judgement, judgment, sound judgement, sound judgment
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    types:
    objectiveness, objectivity
    judgment based on observable phenomena and uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices
    subjectiveness, subjectivity
    judgment based on individual personal impressions and feelings and opinions rather than external facts
    type of:
    trait
    a distinguishing feature of your personal nature
  2. noun
    intelligence manifested by being astute (as in business dealings)
    synonyms: astuteness, perspicaciousness, shrewdness
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    types:
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    craft, craftiness, cunning, foxiness, guile, slyness, wiliness
    shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception
    acumen, insightfulness
    shrewdness shown by keen insight
    knowingness
    shrewdness demonstrated by knowledge
    street smarts
    a shrewd ability to survive in a dangerous urban environment
    type of:
    intelligence
    the ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience
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