shrewd
Americanadjective
-
shrewder,
comparative
-
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
-
cunning or tricky; artful.
-
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:
As the AI boom unfolded, Huang has greased the wheels of Nvidia’s sales funnel through aggressive and shrewd business deals.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2026
But Alphabet has been shrewd about acting early to secure financing and had $265 billion of cash and marketable securities at the end of the third quarter—more than any other big tech company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
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
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
She folded her arms across her chest, leaned back a little, and gave me a shrewd look.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
One of their shrewder tactics is to begin the story as an odd-couple courtship as Ernest, a war veteran, ingratiates himself with the wealthy, wary Mollie.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2023
Fancied to feature by some of the shrewder racing pundits.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2022
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
Their accounts of Kameny’s dismissal and subsequent crusade against the government, while briefer than Cervini’s, are often shrewder in probing Kameny’s motivations and assessing his personal and political development.
From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2020
Since leaving the warren of the snares they had become warier, shrewder, a tenacious band who understood each other and worked together.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
