How to Use whip-smart in a Sentence

whip-smart

adjective
  • Madden said Crowley was the youngest in their class, and whip-smart.
    — Nell Salzman, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2024
  • The writing is whip-smart and the cast has remarkable chemistry.
    — Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 22 Dec. 2024
  • Grey is whip-smart and activist-minded even to her detriment.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
  • Now, some of today’s best teen writers take on the Bard in these 15 whip-smart and original retellings.
    — Ashlee Conour, Chicago Tribune, 28 Jan. 2025
  • But the death sparks a revolution of sorts as the whip-smart Danvers can't come up with a decent plan.
    — USA TODAY, 10 Feb. 2024
  • There’s a whip-smart 10-year-old girl in the Gaza Strip who speaks good English, displays a radiant smile and seemed to have a bright future.
    — Nicholas Kristof, The Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2024
  • The Dubs were cohesive, high-energy, and whip-smart for a full 48-minute campaign.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 23 Feb. 2024
  • Her mother was whip-smart, Houston said, and introduced her to books, music and film.
    — Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 3 June 2023
  • The range also was comprised of pieces that a whip-smart and financially savvy crew of friends would have worn for a weeklong vacation to Las Vegas.
    — Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 18 Jan. 2024
  • Constantly on the move from one house to another, the whip-smart youngster, who loved school but rarely attended it, spent her days tending to her younger sister.
    — Johnny Dodd, Peoplemag, 2 Apr. 2024
  • Paltrow stars as Pepper Potts, Stark’s whip-smart assistant.
    — Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 23 Mar. 2024
  • That movie was born from an alchemical blend of a whip-smart script (penned by multiple writers), Favreau’s deft direction, and the impish charm of Robert Downey, Jr.
    — Angela L. Harvey, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 June 2023
  • The model's accessories, meanwhile, were also whip-smart: thick oversized frames—her take on the office siren trend?—and and brown leather Hermès Kelly bag.
    — Christian Allaire, Vogue, 24 Sep. 2024
  • Quinta Brunson’s whip-smart writing and performance anchor the series, while the ensemble cast adds depth and charm.
    — Okla Jones, Essence, 14 Dec. 2024
  • Once again, Schur has assembled a stellar cast of diverse characters, with crisp, whip-smart writing.
    — Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2024
  • And no one has forgotten Eloise Bridgerton, the whip-smart and brazen young woman who prefers expanding her worldview over attending balls.
    — Christianna Silva, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 May 2024
  • The whip-smart Pepperdine alum has quickly become a fan favorite over the past couple years so a team competition where his side will be the visitors will be a stark change of pace.
    — Mike Dojc, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2024
  • There’s no hint of the speaker’s apparent annoyance in this delightful, whip-smart number.
    — Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 5 Apr. 2025
  • Still, the wordy, whip-smart banter flows easily between the two, moving from kinda corny generational riffs to opening old wounds.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2023
  • That comedy background shines through in abundance in the character of Emma, whose whip-smart, acerbic humor masks a much gentler and more fragile soul.
    — Sandy Thin, CNN, 8 Feb. 2024
  • This whip-smart, hilarious teen drama is full of plot twists and turns, but there's also an extremely cute lesbian romance.
    — Lydia Wang, Women's Health, 5 June 2023
  • From dealing with odd estranged family members to escaping Count Olaf’s clutches, these novels are whip-smart and unusual in the best way.
    — Marilyn La Jeunesse, Parents, 10 Apr. 2025
  • What could have been a tired fish-out-of-water story with easy jokes about the future and technology outruns clichés with whip-smart writing and truly heartfelt characters.
    — Alex Galbraith, EW.com, 24 Sep. 2024
  • Some of the best television shows are about whip-smart operators and the political nuances of their professional worlds.
    — Joshua Alston, Variety, 17 Mar. 2023
  • Through atmospheric camerawork, whip-smart dialogue, and a sea of film references for cinephiles to bathe in, The Half of It spins a coming-of-age love story that bleeds wisdom beyond its years.
    — Lia Beck, EW.com, 12 Jan. 2024
  • The Final Reckoning’] is whip-smart and razor-sharp, this tense eighth entry in one of the most exhilarating franchises of all time is another winner.
    — Jack Dunn, Variety, 13 May 2025
  • To be a wallflower at the Studio Museum in Harlem’s annual gala one must be equipped for whip-smart stories and be ever-ready for poignant details on the ongoing endeavors of the institution.
    — Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 30 Oct. 2024
  • The crown jewel has to be Poker Face, a quirky and whip-smart mystery series starring Natasha Lyonne as a casino cocktail waitress with an uncanny knack for knowing when people are lying.
    — Amanda Prahl, Peoplemag, 1 Aug. 2023
  • Viewers, newshounds, and political pundits aren’t immune to the utopian vision of The West Wing, where the corridors of power are filled with whip-smart strategists and bright-eyed idealists who put country first.
    — Jason Bailey, TIME, 24 July 2024
  • Sally Rooney Rooney’s moving, witty and whip-smart millennial fiction has struck a resonant chord with readers worldwide.
    — Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'whip-smart.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: