shrewdness
the quality of being astute or sharp in practical matters; the ability to find and pursue the most advantageous course of action, sometimes at the cost of moral compromise: He had the gift of storytelling, but not the ordinary shrewdness to convert the talent into a bankable asset.Michnik says that the marketplace frequently “chooses banality over excellence, shrewdness over nobility, empty promise over true competence.”
Origin of shrewdness
1Other words from shrewdness
- un·shrewd·ness, noun
Words Nearby shrewdness
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use shrewdness in a sentence
The answer didn’t gel with his decades-long experience as a shrewd observer of market shakeouts.
That’s why many shrewd observers have looked to this year’s report to provide a particularly important gauge.
GLAAD TV report reminds us that representation still matters | John Paul King | January 20, 2021 | Washington BladeJoin the brilliant minds, leading founders, shrewd investors and boundary-pushing engineers determined to shape the future of space exploration and everything that entails.
48 hours left to save on tickets to TC Sessions: Space 2020 | Alexandra Ames | November 12, 2020 | TechCrunchIn the arc of his life, we see a man who earned his place in history through struggle and shrewdness; persistence and faith.
Full Text of President Obama's Eulogy for Nelson Mandela | The Daily Beast | December 10, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTHere we saw many types of the Yorkshire man, famed for his shrewdness and fondness for what we would call "dickering."
British Highways And Byways From A Motor Car | Thomas D. Murphy
Scotch shrewdness expresses itself in a phraseology all its own, and of which Donald alone possesses the secret.
Friend Mac Donald | Max O'RellScotch shrewdness has occasionally a certain smack of mild hypocrisy, which, however, does no harm to anyone.
Friend Mac Donald | Max O'RellArnold paused, and his glance held something of shrewdness and a livening challenge.
We're Friends, Now | Henry HasseThere is an air of anxious expectancy about him, with a look of Semitic shrewdness in the long, narrow face.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander Berkman
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