5 syllables: Per, spi, ca, ci, ty. Stress on ca.
pur-spik-AS-it-ee
/pɚspɪˈkæsɪti/
Perspicacity is pronounced pur-spik-AS-it-ee (/pɚspɪˈkæsɪti/). It has five syllables (Per-spi-ca-ci-ty), with the stress on "ca". Perspicacity is keen mental perception and understanding, especially in discerning subtle details. It denotes sharp insight, discernment, and the ability to notice or interpret things that are not obvious at first glance. In usage, it often describes a person’s acute judgment or perceptive intelligence in analysis or problem-solving.
nounPerspicacity is keen mental perception and understanding, especially in discerning subtle details. It denotes sharp insight, discernment, and the ability to notice or interpret things that are not obvious at first glance. In usage, it often describes a person’s acute judgment or perceptive intelligence in analysis or problem-solving.
"Her perspicacity allowed her to quickly infer the sponsor’s underlying motives from the ambiguous briefing."
"The detective’s perspicacity helped uncover inconsistencies in the alibi."
"She demonstrated perspicacity in parsing complex financial reports and identifying hidden risks."
Perspicacity is pronounced /ˌpɜːr.spɪˈkæs.ɪ.ti/ in US and /ˌpɜːrˈspɪk.æs.ɪ.ti/ with some speakers stressing the third syllable. Break it into per-spi-cac-i-ty, with primary stress on the “cac”/third syllable: per-spi-CA-ci-ty. Start with a clear schwa or /ər/ in the first syllable, then a short i in spi, then the open æ in cac, followed by a light i and a final ti. Mouth position: lips relaxed, tongue for /p/ stop, /ɜː/ or /ə/ depending on accent, then /s/ cluster ahead of /p/ and /ɪ/ in the middle, and a clear /ti/ at the end. Listen for the rhythm: unstressed first two syllables, stressed third, then lighter final syllables.
Common mistakes include stressing the wrong syllable (often stressing SPI or CAS instead of CAC), dropping the middle vowel or making /æ/ too short, and turning the final -ty into -tee with too much emphasis. To correct: place primary stress on the third syllableCAC (per-spi-CAC-i-ty), ensure a clear /æ/ in CAC, and end with a light /ti/ rather than a heavy /tiː/. Practicing the slow form per-spi-CAC-i-ty helps cement the natural rhythm.ipa
In US English, the initial syllable reduces to /pər/ with a schwa-like first vowel, and stress falls on CAC. In UK English, you may hear /pəˈspɪk.æs.ɪ.ti/ with less vowel reduction in the first syllable and a crisper /æ/ in /æs/. Australian English aligns with rhotic tendencies but often keeps a rounded /ɒ/ in certain environments, leading to /pəˈspɪk.əs.iː/ or /pɜːˈspɪk.æs.ɪ.ti/ depending on speaker. Overall, the key differences are the first-syllable vowel quality and the strength of the /ɪ/ vs /ɪə/ sequences, but the CAC stress is consistently prominent.
The difficulty lies in the multi-syllabic length, the stress on the third syllable, and the consonant cluster /spr/ transitioning into /spɪk/. Also, the sequence cac- with /æ/ can be tricky when adjacent to a vowel, and the final -city adds a non-syllabic ending in fast speech. To master: isolate the /spr/ to /spɪk/ transition, ensure the /æ/ is full, and practice the ending /-ɪti/ as two light syllables. IPA cues help you lock the rhythm and avoid fast-talking through the word.
Perspicacity has no silent letters in standard pronunciation; every letter participates in producing sounds. A notable feature is the internal /spi/ cluster following the initial schwa, which can be challenging in fast speech as the tongue must quickly move from /ər/ to /spɪ/. The final -city is pronounced as /sɪti/ or /siːti/ depending on tempo, with a light, quick ending rather than a heavy closure.IPA cues reinforce the continuous flow between syllables.
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US: rhotic /r/ with a more pronounced /ɜː/ or /ɜ/ in the first syllable; UK: non-rhotic, flatter first vowel, crisper /æ/ in /æs/; AU: variable rhoticity, often a slightly longer vowel in /ə/ and smoother /i/ in the middle. Vowel qualities: /ɜːr/ (US) vs /ə/ (UK), /spɪk/ is generally consistent, /æ/ in /kæ/ tends to be opened and short in US and AU, longer in some UK varieties. Practice with IPA markers, record and compare against a native sample to match timing and pitch, especially on the CAC stress.)
Perspicacity comes from the Middle French perspicacité, derived from Latin perspicacitas, from perspicax, perspicac- ‘seeing through, keen-sighted,’ from per- ‘through’ + specere ‘to look at.’ The root spec- meaning ‘to look’ has many descendants in English (specify, spectrum, spectator). The suffix -acitas or -acities indicates a quality or state, so perspicacitas connotes the quality of being keen-sighted. In English, perspicacity entered literary use in the 17th century, aligning with other intellectual qualities like sagacity and acuity. Over time, its usage has remained formal and somewhat literary, often reserved for descriptions of astute insight rather than everyday cleverness. First known uses appear in scholarly and philosophical texts where precise judgment was valued, and by the 18th and 19th centuries it became a staple in discourse about intelligence, analysis, and keen perception. Today, perspicacity is commonly employed to praise someone’s analytical sharpness in fields ranging from detective work to science and literature. The term persists as a high-register noun in both academic and formal writing, frequently appearing in critiques, evaluations, and discussions of critical thinking.
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Words that rhyme with "Perspicacity"
-ity sounds
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