shrewd
Americanadjective
-
shrewder,
comparative
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shrewdest
superlative
-
having or showing astute or sharp judgment in practical matters, sometimes at the cost of moral compromise.
a shrewd businessman.
- Synonyms:
- intelligent, discriminating, keen, sagacious, perspicacious, perceptive, discerning, quick
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cunning or tricky; artful.
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shrewd pain.
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Archaic. mischievous; naughty.
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Obsolete. malicious or evil; bad.
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Obsolete. shrewish.
adjective
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astute and penetrating, often with regard to business
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artful and crafty
a shrewd politician
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obsolete
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piercing
a shrewd wind
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spiteful
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Synonym Usage
See acute.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of shrewd
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English shrewed, in part representing shrew 1 + -ed 3 ( cf. dogged 1, wicked); in part probably past participle of shrewen “to curse,” verb use of shrew 1 ( -ed 2 )
Explanation
If you are shrewd in your spending, you can make a small salary go a long way. Use the adjective shrewd to describe a person or thing that is smart or clever in a practical sort of way. The word shrewd is from a Middle English adjective formed from the noun schrewe, "an evil person, a villain." This Middle English noun is an earlier form of our modern English word shrew. So shrewd and shrew are related to each other. Shrewd doesn't usually have a disapproving or negative tone, but shrew certainly does.
Vocabulary lists containing shrewd
List 2
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And Then There Were None
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Much Ado About Nothing
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Exactly a year since he unveiled his first collection at Chanel, Franco-Belgian designer Matthieu Blazy has proved himself to be a shrewd and hugely profitable recruit by the family-owned French fashion label.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
Greengrass surrounds Garfield with actors who deliver bigger performances, like Jarvis as the brutish but shrewd Tyler, and Bell as the fervent Ball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Her aesthetics were deliberately cultivated, another calculated move from a shrewd entrepreneur who understood showbusiness as well as she understood people.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
In the shrewd balance of his alliance with Moscow and Beijing, he has no need to make any sort of deals with Washington.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
As it turns out, though, betrayal can also breed penitents, shrewd minor politicians, and ghosts.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Fancied to feature by some of the shrewder racing pundits.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2022
One of Farhadi’s shrewder insights here is that institutions, perhaps even more than individuals, have a real stake in turning inspirational stories to their financial and reputational advantage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2022
But Stacey Abrams is one of the shrewder Democratic politicians.
From Slate ● Dec. 2, 2021
Someone shrewder could have made better use of its marriage of history and blockbuster cinema to comment on our addiction to violent, explosive versions of American mythmaking.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2021
Or she won't, a shrewder voice in his head suggested.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
Tinubu is considered one of Nigeria's shrewdest politicians and his All Progressives Congress controls the national assembly and 31 of 36 powerful governorships.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
That’s the hypothesis of one of the world’s shrewdest and most respected analysts of geopolitics and energy, Cambridge University political economy professor Helen Thompson.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 11, 2026
Klein Halevi is one of the shrewdest and most thoughtful analysts of Israeli politics and society.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
Ashworth's glittering reputation as one of the game's shrewdest operators meant he was regarded as a prized, crucial acquisition but left in December 2024 after only five months at Old Trafford.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
And it may surprise even the shrewdest reader to learn that most serpents do not belong in the realm of Pain.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
