shrewdness

American  

[shrood-nis] / ˈʃrud nɪs /

noun

1. 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.”

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Other Word Forms

• unshrewdness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of shrewdness

shrewd ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shrewdness

Generosity and shrewdness, in these cases, reinforced each other.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Napoleon ascends through shrewdness and dumb luck, taking advantage of anti-royalist sentiment one minute and crowning himself emperor the next.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2023

One welcome shift from past cinematic renderings is screenwriters Peres Owino's and NneNne Iwuji's emphasis on Cleopatra's shrewdness as a political and military strategist, traits often subsumed by her legend as a seductress.

From Salon ● May 11, 2023

Despite his cricketing shrewdness, he was ruled out of captaincy discussions by administrators in 2000 following too many embarrassing headlines about personal behaviour.

From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2022

For brilliance he substituted shrewdness and a kind of daring.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• acumen
• sharpness