sagacious
Having or showing wise judgment.
ExampleThe judge made a sagacious decision that balanced fairness and practicality.
ExampleHer sagacious advice prevented the company from taking an unnecessary risk.
Usage Scenarios
Evaluating judgment
Use sagacious when someone makes a wise choice under complexity.
ExampleThe scientist's sagacious decision saved years of unproductive research.
Describing advice
Use it when advice shows insight and practical wisdom.
ExampleHer sagacious counsel helped the reformers avoid a political mistake.
Usage Guide
Use sagacious when a GRE sentence praises judgment, insight, or practical wisdom. It often describes leaders, advisers, critics, or decisions.
Useful chunks include sagacious decision, sagacious advice, sagacious leader, and sagacious observer when the context praises wise judgment.
Do not use sagacious for someone who is merely intelligent. It emphasizes wise judgment, not just knowledge.
Word Forms & Word Building
Sagacious is built with the adjective suffix -ous, giving the sense full of wisdom or good judgment.
Sagacity is the noun formed with -ity. It means wisdom, perceptiveness, or good judgment.
Sagaciously is the -ly adverb, but GRE learners usually benefit most from chunks like sagacious decision and sagacious advice.
Meaning Boundaries
Sagacious vs intelligent
Intelligent means mentally able or knowledgeable. Sagacious means wise in judgment, especially when choosing well in a complex situation.
Sagacious vs shrewd
Shrewd can suggest clever self-interest or tactical advantage. Sagacious is more positive and wisdom-focused, with better judgment as the main idea.
Register
Sagacious is formal and literary, a classic GRE word for praise of judgment.
Memory Tricks
Think sage-like. A sagacious person has the wisdom of a sage.
Pair sagacious with decision and advice for GRE contexts.
Look for clues like wise, perceptive, judicious, or insightful.
Common Traps
Do not use sagacious for factual knowledge alone.
Do not use sagacious for cleverness that lacks judgment; the word praises wisdom, not merely intelligence.
The noun is sagacity, not sagaciousness in most formal usage.