shrewd
Pronunciation Adjective

shrewd (comparative shrewder, superlative shrewdest)

  1. Showing clever resourcefulness in practical matters.
  2. Artful, tricky or cunning.
  3. (informal) Streetwise.
  4. Knowledgeable, intelligent, keen.
  5. Nigh accurate.
    a shrewd guess
  6. Severe, intense, hard.
    a shrewd blow, or assault
  7. Sharp, snithy, piercing.
    a shrewd wind
  8. (archaic) Bad, evil, threatening.
    • 1596-97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act III Scene ii:
      smallcaps Portia:
      There are some shrewd contents in yon same paper,
      That steals the colours from Bassanio's cheek:
      Some dear friend dead; else nothing in the world
      Could turn so much the constitution
      Of any constant man. What, worse and worse!— […]
  9. (obsolete) Portending, boding.
  10. (archaic) Noxious, scatheful, mischievous.
  11. (obsolete) Abusive, shrewish.
  12. (archaic) Scolding, satirical, sharp.
    • 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act II Scene i:
      smallcaps Leonato: By my troth, niece, thou wilt never get thee a husband, if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue.
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