aperçu means A clever insight.
aperçu is pronounced /ˌa.pɛːˈsjuː/.
Why “aperçu” is a great word
A brief, clever, and illuminating insight or summary. Borrowed from French *aperçu*, literally 'perceived', the past participle of *apercevoir* ('to perceive'), from Old French *aperceivre*, from Latin *ad-* ('to') and *percipere* ('to seize, understand'), first recorded in English use in the early 19th century. Unlike a "summary," which plods dutifully through the main points, or an "epiphany," which arrives as a thunderclap of personal revelation, an aperçu is a deft, surgical incision into the heart of a matter. It is the diplomat who, after five minutes of conversation, delivers the single sentence that unlocks an entire personality; the critic who captures an artist's oeuvre in a passing phrase; the glint of streetlight on wet pavement that reveals the whole city's mood—a small victory of clarity against the gathering dark.
Etymology
Borrowed from French aperçu. Compare with English apperception.
noun
- A clever insight.e.g.“I insisted on how his opinion mattered, and developed and construed his platitudes into aperçus he was far from entertaining himself.”
- An outline or summary; also, words that summarize.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.