Dictionary.com
definitions

shrewd

[ shrood ]
/ ʃrud /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shrewd ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, shrewd·er, shrewd·est.

astute or sharp in practical matters: a shrewd politician.
keen; piercing.
artful(def 1).
Archaic. malicious.
Obsolete. bad1.
Obsolete. shrewish.

RELATED CONTENT

A Smack Of Jellyfish And Other Strange Animal GroupsWhat do hunting and sexual desires have in common? We could point to several things, but from a linguistic point of view, we’re referring to the archaic word venery, which means both hunting (from the Latin venor) and sexual desire (from Latin veneria, referring to Venus). Strangely, terms of venery is a collective noun that means a group of animals. And, many of these animal …
READ MORE
What Word Is Your State Looking Up On Mother’s Day?Our Data Scientists analyzed what users looked up on Dictionary.com on Mother’s Day in 2018 and found these as the top trends by state.
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

ingenious, sensible, penetrating, wise, sly, keen, farsighted, slick, judicious, perceptive, cagey, astute, canny, sharp, prudent, probing, crafty, smart, wily, acute

Nearby words

  1. shredder,
  2. shredding,
  3. shreveport,
  4. shrew,
  5. shrew mole,
  6. shrewdie,
  7. shrewdly,
  8. shrewish,
  9. shrewishly,
  10. shrewmouse

Origin of shrewd

1275–1325; Middle English shrewed, in part representing shrew1 + -ed3 (cf. dogged1, wicked); in part probably past participle of shrewen to curse, v. use of shrew1 (see -ed2)
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for shrewd

British Dictionary definitions for shrewd

shrewd

/ (ʃruːd) /

adjective

astute and penetrating, often with regard to business
artful and craftya shrewd politician
obsolete
  1. piercinga shrewd wind
  2. spiteful
Derived Formsshrewdly, adverbshrewdness, noun

Word Origin for shrewd

C14: from shrew (obsolete vb) to curse, from shrew
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for shrewd

shrewd

adj.

c.1300, "wicked, evil," from shrewe "wicked man" (see shrew). Cf. crabbed from crab (n.), dogged from dog (n.), wicked from witch (n.). The sense of "cunning" is first recorded 1510s. Related: Shrewdly; shrewdness. Strutt's "Sports and Pastimes of the People of England" (1801) has a shrewdness of apes for a company or group of them. Shrewdie "cunning person" is from 1916.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper