Synonyms for wit

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noun

Clever humor
humor, wittiness, smartness, whimsicality, jocularity, pleasantry, drollery, waggery, banter, burlesque; see also humor 1.
An example of wit, sense 1
satire, irony, badinage, witticism, sally, whimsy, repartee, bon mot, joke, aphorism, jest, quip, epigram, pun, wisecrack*, gag*.
One who possesses wit, sense 1
humorist, punster, epigrammatist, comedian, banterer, clever fellow, life of the party, wag, wisecracker*, wise guy*.

wit refers to the ability to perceive the incongruous and to express it in quick, sharp, spontaneous, often sarcastic remarks that delight or entertain; humor is applied to the ability to perceive and express that which is comical, ludicrous, or ridiculous, but connotes kindliness, geniality, sometimes even pathos, in the expression and a reaction of sympathetic amusement from the audience; irony refers to the humor implicit in the contradiction between literal expression and intended meaning or in the discrepancy between appearance and reality in life; satire applies to the use, especially in literature, of ridicule, sarcasm, irony, etc. in exposing and attacking vices or follies; repartee refers to the ability to reply or retort with quick, skillful wit or humor

at one's wits' end

downhearted, desperate, at a loss, helpless; see hopeless 2, troubled 1.

have<strong> or </strong>keep one's wits about one

be ready, be alert, take precautions, be on one's guard, keep one's cool*; see also watch out 2.

live by one's wits

use sharp practices, live dangerously, take advantage of all opportunities; see prosper, trick.

See wit in American Heritage Dictionary 4 Synonyms

wit ¹humor repartee sarcasm irony

These nouns denote forms of expression that elicit amusement or laughter. Wit implies intellectual keenness and the ability to perceive and express in a diverting way analogies between dissimilar things: “Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words” (Dorothy Parker).
Humor suggests the faculty of recognizing what is amusing, comical, incongruous, or absurd: “Man's sense of humor seems to be in inverse proportion to the gravity of his profession” (Mary Roberts Rinehart).
Repartee implies a facility for answering swiftly and cleverly: “framing comments … that would be sure to sting and yet leave no opening for repartee” (H.G. Wells).
Sarcasm is a form of caustic wit intended to wound or ridicule another: “[His] tone seemed as if meant to be kind and soothing, but yet had a bitterness of sarcasm in it” (Nathaniel Hawthorne).
Irony is a form of expression in which an intended meaning is the opposite of the literal meaning of the words used: “A drayman in a passion [a rage] calls out, ‘You are a pretty fellow,’ without suspecting that he is uttering irony” (Thomas Macaulay).

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