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smart - What does it mean?

Definition of 'smart'

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) smerten, from (etyl) .

Verb

  • To hurt or sting.
    • After being hit with a pitch, the batter exclaimed "Ouch, my arm smarts !"
  • * 1897 , (Bram Stoker), (Dracula) Chapter 21
    • He moved convulsively, and as he did so, said, "I'll be quiet, Doctor. Tell them to take off the strait waistcoat. I have had a terrible dream, and it has left me so weak that I cannot move. What's wrong with my face? It feels all swollen, and it smarts dreadfully."
  • To cause a smart or sting in.
  • * T. Adams
    • A goad that smarts the flesh.
  • To feel a pungent pain of mind; to feel sharp pain or grief; to suffer; to feel the sting of evil.
  • * Alexander Pope
    • No creature smarts so little as a fool.
  • * Bible, Proverbs xi. 15
    • He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it.

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) smart, smarte, smerte, from (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Causing sharp pain; stinging.
  • * Shakespeare
    • How smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience.
  • Sharp; keen; poignant.
    • a smart pain
  • Exhibiting social ability or cleverness.
  • * 1811 , Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility , chapter 19
    • I always preferred the church, and I still do. But that was not smart' enough for my family. They recommended the army. That was a great deal too ' smart for me.
  • Exhibiting intellectual knowledge, such as that found in books.
  • (often|in combination) Equipped with intelligent behaviour.
    • smart''' bomb'', '''''smart car
    smart'''card'', '''''smart phone
  • Good-looking.
    • a smart outfit
  • Cleverly shrewd and humorous in a way that may be rude and disrespectful.
    • He became tired of his daughter's sarcasm and smart remarks''.
  • * Young
    • Who, for the poor renown of being smart / Would leave a sting within a brother's heart?
  • * Addison
    • a sentence or two, which I thought very smart
  • Sudden and intense.
  • * Clarendon
    • smart skirmishes, in which many fell
  • * 1860 July 9, Henry David Thoreau, journal entry, from Thoreau's bird-lore'', Francis H. Allen (editor), Houghton Mifflin (Boston, 1910), ''Thoreau on Birds: notes on New England birds from the Journals of Henry David Thoreau , Beacon Press, (Boston, 1993), page 239:
    • There is a smart shower at 5 P.M., and in the midst of it a hummingbird is busy about the flowers in the garden, unmindful of it, though you would think that each big drop that struck him would be a serious accident.
  • (US|Southern|dated) Intense in feeling; painful. Used usually with the adverb intensifier right .
    • He raised his voice, and it hurt her feelings right smart .
    That cast on his leg chaffs him right smart .
  • (archaic) Efficient; vigorous; brilliant.
  • * Dryden
    • The stars shine smarter .
  • (archaic) Pretentious; showy; spruce.
    • a smart gown
  • (archaic) Brisk; fresh.
    • a smart breeze
    Synonyms
    * (exhibiting social ability) bright, capable, sophisticated, witty * (exhibiting intellectual knowledge) cultivated, educated, learned, see also * (good-looking) attractive, chic, stylish, handsome * silly
    Antonyms
    * (exhibiting social ability) backward, banal, boorish, dull, inept * (exhibiting intellectual knowledge) ignorant, uncultivated, simple * (good-looking) garish, , tacky
    Derived terms
    * smart aleck * smart as a whip * smart casual * smart off

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) smerte, from . More above.

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • A sharp, quick, lively pain; a sting.
  • Mental pain or suffering; grief; affliction.
  • * Milton
    • To stand 'twixt us and our deserved smart .
  • * Spenser
    • Counsel mitigates the greatest smart .
  • Smart-money.
  • (slang|dated) A dandy; one who is smart in dress; one who is brisk, vivacious, or clever.
    • (Fielding)

    Anagrams

    * * ----

    Similar to 'smart'

    snort, smirt, snirt, smorat