Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Characterized by keen awareness, sharp intelligence, and often a sense of the practical.
- adj. Disposed to artful and cunning practices; tricky.
- adj. Sharp; penetrating: a shrewd wind.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Evil; accursed; malignant; wicked.
- Having a curst temper; scolding; vixenish; shrewish.
- Annoying; mischievous; vexatious; troublesome; malicious.
- Sharp: keen; biting; harsh.
- Sly; canning; artful; spiteful.
- Astute; sagacious; discriminating; discerning; smart; sharp: as, a shrewd man of the world.
- Indicating shrewdness; due to shrewdness; involving or displaying sagacity or astuteness: as, a shrewd remark; a shrewd face.
- Synonyms Artful, Sly, etc., (see cunning), wily, subtle.
- Acute, Keen, etc. (see acute), discerning, penetrating, politic, ingenious.
Wiktionary
- adj. showing clever resourcefulness in practical matters
- adj. artful, tricky or cunning
- adj. streetwise
- adj. knowledgeable
- adj. archaic Scolding, satirical, sharp.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. obsolete Inclining to shrew; disposing to curse or scold; hence, vicious; malicious; evil; wicked; mischievous; vexatious; rough; unfair; shrewish.
- adj. Artful; wily; cunning; arch.
- adj. Able or clever in practical affairs; sharp in business; astute; sharp-witted; sagacious; keen.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. used of persons
- adj. marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
Etymologies
- From Middle English shrewe ("evil man"). See shrew (Wiktionary)
- Middle English shrewed, wicked, from shrew, rascal; see shrew. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Scrimgeour stopped too, leaned on his stick and stared at Harry, his expression shrewd now.”
“Trae said, "He is described as a shrewd man and an astute judge of character.”
“Inclined toward Communism to meet the social and political demands of his teeming peoples, he does not openly break with the West in shrewd calculation that only thence can flow the capital and technical know-how to ensure his country's economic survival and its development.”
“The home conversation was rich in shrewd remarks, bright with playfulness and humour and occasional flashes of wit.”
“His face was long and thin, his expression shrewd and good-natured, his limbs were long and ungainly.”
“As reports, brother Saif, 40, is known as a shrewd operator and canny businessman, while 39-year-old Saadi enjoyed a brief Italian soccer career.”
“The company is known as a shrewd operator, able to extract efficiencies and savings at every level of business.”
“She soon became known as a shrewd business person, not allowing herself to be shortchanged by those eager to buy some of her properties at prices below the current market value.”
“She was not what they call shrewd or sharp at all -- better she had been. ”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘shrewd’.
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Test Prep or Just for fun
Building a list for standardized test prep or just for learning some new words! Please add any words that you feel are important for the SAT/GRE/GMAT etc...
throng, morass, parley, facile, kismet, strife, jetsam, carrion, annex, harbinger, vestige, surreptitious and 575 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Words related to knowledge
Words that relate to learning, knowing, being enlightened...
revelation, eureka, awakening, idea, sapient, astute, canny, intelligent, wise, sharp, shrewd, informed and 467 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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GRE
predilection, explicit, appeal, supplication, appealing, enchanting, ovation, pertinent, apropos, opportunely, applicable, germane and 381 more...
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Words For Novel (Part 3)
fibers, gypsy, polymer, schism, syphilitic garden..., holocaust, scrutinant, contemplate, aftermath, consequence, deadlock, impasse and 150 more...
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Ideas
brainchild, inspiration, muse, genius, eureka, discovery, intellectual prop..., intangible asset, goodwill, patented, savant, brainiac and 76 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6689 more...
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ASTUTE
This lists the words associated with ASTUTE
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ash vocab
flippant, fillip, expiate, explicate, extirpate, facile, florid, fealty, allegiance, fetid, febrile, pert and 134 more...
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GCI
spinster, maiden, happy-go-lucky, homonym, ill-at-ease, saw red, out of sorts, hot under the collar, taken aback, pen-names, alias, shoelaces and 378 more...
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Personal Vocabulary List
All my favourite words that I come across!
veritable, incongruence, rigamorole, letcherous, revolting, repulsive, reputrid, rapatious, forays, guise, placate, paradigm and 1162 more...
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SAT Vocab
Redundant.
problematic, proclivity, prodigal, prodigious, prodigy, profane, profligate, profound, profusion, proliferation, prolific, prologue and 455 more...
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Words from "Pearls Before Breakfast"
nondescript, shrewd, seed money, bureaucrat, indeterminate, fungible, cupidity, banal, grandeur, utilitarian, buffer, ecstatic and 123 more...
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newGRE
mostly from magoosh
imbue, verge on, nonchalant, deliberate, timorous, futile, provisional, dissect, checked, tinged, alluring, visionary and 1046 more...
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Naresh_Gre
The path meanders through the vineyards
meander, labyrinth, Sinuous, gyrate, caron, awry, credo, banter, juxtaposition, argot, inexorable, foibles and 223 more...
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