savvy

Savvy is most commonly used as an adjective to describe a person who’s generally knowledgeable, experienced, and well-informed. Synonyms that capture these same qualities are shrewd, astute, and canny.

These terms often suggest that a person is generally intelligent and knows how to handle different situations, especially practical matters—that they’re discerning and have good judgment.

Savvy can also be used as a noun referring to general shrewdness and common sense. Synonyms for this sense include acumen and know-how. The word savviness can mean the same thing.

Sometimes, savvy is used in combination with other words that indicate the specific area in which someone is knowledgeable or experienced, such as tech-savvy and computer-savvy.

Savvy is also sometimes used as a slang term at the end of a sentence, essentially as a way of saying Do you understand? Other ways of saying this are Capiche? (or Capeesh?), Understood? (or Understand?), and Got it?

Savvy and astute are close synonyms, and both can be applied to people and to comments, observations, decisions, etc. Calling a comment or observation astute often implies that it’s insightful. Calling a comment or observation savvy often implies that it’s wise and based on a depth of knowledge and experience.

It’s spelled savvy, with two v’s. You can remember this by remembering that it doesn’t rhyme with navy or wavy or gravy, which all have one v.

Savvy suggests knowledge, experience, and common sense. Words that capture the opposite of this include naive, ignorant, and obtuse. A more informal term is clueless. Calling someone savvy is a compliment. Using any of these terms to describe someone would be insulting.

Savvy is often applied to people or their comments, decisions, etc. It’s most commonly used as an adjective, and sometimes it’s paired with another word. It can also be used as a noun.

Here are some examples of savvy in a sentence:

• Our users are savvy—they know how it should work and they’ll certainly let us know when it doesn’t.
• It was a savvy decision that demonstrated her depth of experience.
• He had no business savvy at all—he lost money on every deal he ever made.
• I knew he’d be great at game design since he’s always been so tech-savvy.