Adjacent Words

Shrewd definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SHREWD, a.
1. Having the qualities of a shrew; vexatious; troublesome; mischievous. Obs.
2. Sly; cunning; arch; subtil; artful; astute; as a shrewd man.
3. Sagacious; of nice discernment; as a shrewd observer of men.
4. Proceeding from cunning or sagacity, or containing it; as a shrewd saying; a shrewd conjecture.
5. Painful; vexatious; troublesome.
Every of this number
That have endured shrewd nights and days with us. Obs. Shak.
No enemy is so despicable but he may do one a shrewd turn. Obs.
L'Estrange.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: marked by practical hardheaded intelligence; "a smart businessman"; "an astute tenant always reads the small print in a lease"; "he was too shrewd to go along with them on a road that could lead only to their overthrow" [syn: astute, sharp, shrewd]
2: used of persons; "the most calculating and selfish men in the community" [syn: calculating, calculative, conniving, scheming, shrewd]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English shrewed, from shrewe + ¹-ed Date: 13th century 1. archaic mischievous 2. obsolete abusive, shrewish 3. obsolete ominous, dangerous 4. a. severe, hard <a shrewd knock> b. sharp, piercing <a shrewd wind> 5. a. marked by clever discerning awareness and hardheaded acumen <shrewd common sense> b. given to wily and artful ways or dealing <a shrewd operator> • shrewdly adverb • shrewdness noun Synonyms: shrewd, sagacious, perspicacious, astute mean acute in perception and sound in judgment. shrewd stresses practical, hardheaded cleverness and judgment <a shrewd judge of character>. sagacious suggests wisdom, penetration, and farsightedness <sagacious investors got in on the ground floor>. perspicacious implies unusual power to see through and understand what is puzzling or hidden <a perspicacious counselor saw through the child's facade>. astute suggests shrewdness, perspicacity, and diplomatic skill <an astute player of party politics>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 a showing astute powers of judgement; clever and judicious (a shrewd observer; made a shrewd guess). b (of a face etc.) shrewd-looking. 2 archaic a (of pain, cold, etc.) sharp, biting. b (of a blow, thrust, etc.) severe, hard. c mischievous; malicious. Derivatives: shrewdly adv. shrewdness n. Etymology: ME, = malignant, f. SHREW in sense 'evil person or thing', or past part. of obs. shrew to curse, f. SHREW

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Shrewd Shrewd, a. [Compar. Shrewder; superl. Shrewdest.] [Originally the p. p. of shrew, v.t.] 1. Inclining to shrew; disposing to curse or scold; hence, vicious; malicious; evil; wicked; mischievous; vexatious; rough; unfair; shrewish. [Obs.] --Chaucer. [Egypt] hath many shrewd havens, because of the great rocks that ben strong and dangerous to pass by. --Sir J. Mandeville. Every of this happy number That have endured shrewd days and nights with us. --Shak. 2. Artful; wily; cunning; arch. These women are shrewd tempters with their tongues. --Shak. 3. Able or clever in practical affairs; sharp in business; astute; sharp-witted; sagacious; keen; as, a shrewd observer; a shrewd design; a shrewd reply. Professing to despise the ill opinion of mankind creates a shrewd suspicion that we have deserved it. --Secker. Syn: Keen; critical; subtle; artful; astute; sagacious; discerning; acute; penetrating. Usage: Shrewd, Sagacious. One who is shrewd is keen to detect errors, to penetrate disguises, to foresee and guard against the selfishness of others. Shrewd is a word of less dignity than sagacious, which implies a comprehensive as well as penetrating mind, whereas shrewd does not. -- Shrewd"ly, adv. -- Shrewd"ness, n.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(shrewder, shrewdest) A shrewd person is able to understand and judge a situation quickly and to use this understanding to their own advantage. She's a shrewd businesswoman... ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Evil, iniquitous, bad. 2. Vixenish, scolding, shrewish. 3. Vexatious, annoying, troublesome, painful, mischievous, malicious. 4. Artful, cunning, sly, wily, subtle, crafty, arch, astute, Machiavelian. 5. Sagacious, acute, sharp, quick, discriminating, astute, sensible, sharp-sighted, penetrating, keen, ingenious, discerning, intelligent, deep, profound, astute.

Moby Thesaurus

Byzantine, Daedalian, Machiavellian, Machiavellic, acute, all-knowing, apperceptive, appercipient, apprehending, apprehensive, arch, artful, astute, aware, cagey, calculated, calculating, canny, clever, cognizant, comprehending, conscious, crafty, cunning, cute, deceitful, deep, deep-laid, designing, devious, diplomatic, discerning, farsighted, feline, foresighted, foxy, guileful, heady, ingenious, insidious, insightful, intelligent, inventive, judicious, keen, knowing, knowledgeable, manipulative, mindful, omniscient, pawky, penetrating, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, piercing, polite, politic, prehensile, probing, prudent, quick-witted, ready, resourceful, sagacious, sage, savvy, scheming, sensible, serpentine, sharp, shifty, slick, slippery, sly, smart, smooth, snaky, sneaky, sophistical, stealthy, strategic, subtile, subtle, supple, tactical, tidy, trickish, tricksy, tricky, understanding, vulpine, wary, wily, wise