shrewd









shrewd


shrewd [shrood] SynonymsExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for shrewd on Thesaurus.com adjective, shrewd·er, shrewd·est.

  1. astute or sharp in practical matters: a shrewd politician.
  2. keen; piercing.
  3. artful(def 1).
  4. Archaic. malicious.
  5. Obsolete. bad1.
  6. Obsolete. shrewish.

Origin of shrewd 1275–1325; Middle English shrewed, in part representing shrew1 + -ed3 (cf. dogged1, wicked); in part probably past participle of shrewen to curse, v. use of shrew1 (see -ed2)Related formsshrewd·ly, adverbshrewd·ness, nounun·shrewd, adjectiveun·shrewd·ly, adverbun·shrewd·ness, nounSynonyms for shrewd See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com 1. quick, discerning, perceptive, perspicacious, sagacious, keen; discriminating, intelligent. See acute. Related Words for shrewd ingenious, sensible, penetrating, wise, sly, keen, farsighted, slick, judicious, perceptive, cagey, astute, canny, sharp, prudent, probing, crafty, smart, wily, acute Examples from the Web for shrewd Contemporary Examples of shrewd

  • The deviating family melodrama has, thankfully, been replaced by shrewd spycraft.

    ‘Homeland’ Season 4: A Stripped-Down and Surprisingly Badass Return to Form

    Marlow Stern

    September 30, 2014

  • As someone with a shrewd eye for the absurd, it is entirely possible somewhere Joan Rivers is smiling right now.

    Joan Rivers: ‘Death Is Like Plastic Surgery’

    Tim Teeman

    September 4, 2014

  • It stands to reason that nowadays, to do the latter would be shrewd indeed.

    Ted Thompson’s Debut Novel Features A 1 Percenter As Its Hero

    Stefan Beck

    May 6, 2014

  • According to tradition, the typical Yankee peddler was thought to be so shrewd that he could carve and sell counterfeit nutmegs.

    Ted Thompson’s Debut Novel Features A 1 Percenter As Its Hero

    Stefan Beck

    May 6, 2014

  • They listen to their shrewd father, Tywin Lannister, smear their dead son in front of his corpse.

    Game of Thrones’ Most WTF Sex Scene: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau on Jaime Lannister’s Darkest Hour

    Marlow Stern

    April 21, 2014

  • Historical Examples of shrewd

  • Christine was not over-intelligent, perhaps, but she was shrewd.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • One was an elderly savage, with a wrinkled, shrewd countenance.

    The Leopard Woman

    Stewart Edward White

  • England had been shrewd enough to guarantee them their domains and revenues.

    In the Valley

    Harold Frederic

  • Some of his sayings were shrewd and sharp; but he was sometimes aggressive.

    Heroes of the Telegraph

    J. Munro

  • Oh, shrewd people, Mr Clennam: evidently people of business!

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

  • British Dictionary definitions for shrewd shrewd adjective

    1. astute and penetrating, often with regard to business
    2. artful and craftya shrewd politician
    3. obsolete
      1. piercinga shrewd wind
      2. spiteful

    Derived Formsshrewdly, adverbshrewdness, nounWord Origin for shrewd C14: from shrew (obsolete vb) to curse, from shrew Word Origin and History for shrewd adj.

    c.1300, “wicked, evil,” from shrewe “wicked man” (see shrew). Cf. crabbed from crab (n.), dogged from dog (n.), wicked from witch (n.). The sense of “cunning” is first recorded 1510s. Related: Shrewdly; shrewdness. Strutt’s “Sports and Pastimes of the People of England” (1801) has a shrewdness of apes for a company or group of them. Shrewdie “cunning person” is from 1916.

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