sapient
(formal, dated except poetic) Possessing discernment and wisdom; learned, wise.
Spot more delicious then those Gardens feign’d / Or of reviv’d Adonis, or renownd / Alcinous, host of old Laertes Son [Odysseus], / Or that, not Mystic, where the Sapient King [Solomon] / Held dalliance with his faire Egyptian Spouse.
(derogatory, chiefly ironic) Attempting to appear discerning or wise.
In Europe I had been told by sapient academics that there wasn't really any class system in the United States: well, you couldn't prove that by the conditions in California's agribusinesses, or indeed its urban factories.
A man would blush to say to himself in the darkness of the night the things he stands up on a platform in the garish light of day to stuff into the ears of a multitude whose intelligence he pretends that he esteems. […] Therefore, why be sapient and solemn about it, like an editorial in a newspaper?
(rare) Aware or knowledgeable of.
(chiefly science fiction) Of a lifeform or species: possessing intelligence or a high degree of self-awareness.
Nessus had not spoken mockingly; but Speaker reacted with rage. "What sapient being would not fear such power?"
(anthropology) Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Homo sapiens (modern human beings).
(obsolete, rare) Having a (good) flavor or taste; sapid.
(archaic except humorous) A wise person; a sage.
"She canna do that," said another sapient of the same profession— […]
(by extension, science fiction) An intelligent, self-aware being.
(anthropology) A human being of the species Homo sapiens.
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