pert
UK /pɜːt/ · US /pɝt/ adjective, verb, noun
Forms perter pertest perts perting perted
- adjective (of a person) Attractive.
- adjective (of a part of the body) Well-formed; shapely. “pert breasts”
- adjective Lively; alert and cheerful; bright.
- adjective (archaic) Especially of children or social inferiors: cheeky, impertinent.
- adjective (obsolete) Open; evident; unhidden.
- adjective (obsolete) Clever.
- verb (intransitive, obsolete) To behave with pertness; to misbehave.
- noun (obsolete) An impudent person.
Synonyms
audacious bold get wise bold-faced bold as brass brassy malapert brazen brazen-faced cheeky chutzpadik cocket cute dicacious facey familiar flippant flip forward fresh impertinent irreverent saucy
Etymology
From Middle English pert, perte, aphetic form of apert.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Open; evident; apert. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.
- adjective Lively; brisk; sprightly; smart. [Obs.] Shak.
- verb To behave with pertness. [Obs.] Gauden.
Etymology [An aphetic form of OE. & OF. apert open, known, true, free, or impudent. See Apert.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pert”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details