'Shrewd' definitions:
Definition of 'shrewd'
From: WordNet
adjective
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]
adjective
Used of persons; "the most calculating and selfish men in the community" [syn: calculating, calculative, conniving, scheming, shrewd]
Definition of 'Shrewd'
From: GCIDE
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- [Egypt] hath many shrewd havens, because of the great rocks that ben strong and dangerous to pass by. --Sir J. Mandeville. [1913 Webster]
- Every of this happy number That have endured shrewd days and nights with us. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 2. Artful; wily; cunning; arch. [1913 Webster]
- These women are shrewd tempters with their tongues. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- Professing to despise the ill opinion of mankind creates a shrewd suspicion that we have deserved it. --Secker. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster] -- {Shrewd"ly}, adv. -- {Shrewd"ness}, n. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'shrewd'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- acute,
- all-knowing,
- apperceptive,
- appercipient,
- apprehending,
- apprehensive,
- arch,
- artful,
- astute,
- aware,
- Byzantine,
- cagey,
- calculated,
- calculating,
- canny,
- clever,
- cognizant,
- comprehending,
- conscious,
- crafty,
- cunning,
- cute,
- Daedalian,
- deceitful,
- deep,
- deep-laid,
- designing,
- devious,
- diplomatic,
- discerning,
- farsighted,
- feline,
- foresighted,
- foxy,
- guileful,
- heady,
- ingenious,
- insidious,
- insightful,
- intelligent,
- inventive,
- judicious,
- keen,
- knowing,
- knowledgeable,
- Machiavellian,
- Machiavellic,
- 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