shrewd
Americanadjective
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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.
-
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
-
artful and crafty
a shrewd politician
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obsolete
-
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:
In drawing the moral to this experience, Graham wrote: “One lucky break, or one supremely shrewd decision — can we tell them apart? — may count for more than a lifetime of journeyman efforts.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
Better that everyone thought coach Mike Brown was a respectable, friendly boss and not a shrewd tactician who lengthened New York’s bench to give his starters a breath.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
A relentlessly driven, shrewd dealmaker and entrepreneur, Allen is used to defying skeptics and seeing opportunity in assets overlooked by others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
On X, there’s a debate about whether Berkshire’s CEO, Greg Abel, made a shrewd move in buying the Alphabet stock.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
While these doubts were passing through Sam’s slow but shrewd mind, he stood gazing out towards the dark cliff of Cirith Gorgor.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
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
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
Jude: Signing Nwosu was one of the Seahawks’ shrewdest moves of the offseason.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 10, 2022
Critical to the publicity’s success was Howard’s shrewdest decision.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Definitions 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.
