1.
[syn: cardsharp, card sharp, cardsharper, card sharper, sharper, sharpie, sharpy, card shark]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Sharp \Sharp\, a. [Compar. Sharper; superl. Sharpest.] [OE.
sharp, scharp, scarp, AS. scearp; akin to OS. skarp, LG.
scharp, D. scherp, G. scharf, Dan. & Sw. skarp, Icel. skarpr.
Cf. Escarp, Scrape, Scorpion.]
1. Having a very thin edge or fine point; of a nature to cut
or pierce easily; not blunt or dull; keen.
[1913 Webster]
He dies upon my scimeter's sharp point. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
2. Terminating in a point or edge; not obtuse or rounded;
somewhat pointed or edged; peaked or ridged; as, a sharp
hill; sharp features.
[1913 Webster]
3. Affecting the sense as if pointed or cutting, keen,
penetrating, acute: to the taste or smell, pungent, acid,
sour, as ammonia has a sharp taste and odor; to the
hearing, piercing, shrill, as a sharp sound or voice; to
the eye, instantaneously brilliant, dazzling, as a sharp
flash.
[1913 Webster]
4. (Mus.)
(a) High in pitch; acute; as, a sharp note or tone.
(b) Raised a semitone in pitch; as, C sharp (C[sharp]),
which is a half step, or semitone, higher than C.
(c) So high as to be out of tune, or above true pitch; as,
the tone is sharp; that instrument is sharp. Opposed
in all these senses to flat.
[1913 Webster]
5. Very trying to the feelings; piercing; keen; severe;
painful; distressing; as, sharp pain, weather; a sharp and
frosty air.
[1913 Webster]
Sharp misery had worn him to the bones. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
The morning sharp and clear. --Cowper.
[1913 Webster]
In sharpest perils faithful proved. --Keble.
[1913 Webster]
6. Cutting in language or import; biting; sarcastic; cruel;
harsh; rigorous; severe; as, a sharp rebuke. "That sharp
look." --Tennyson.
[1913 Webster]
To that place the sharp Athenian law
Can not pursue us. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Be thy words severe,
Sharp as merits but the sword forbear. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
7. Of keen perception; quick to discern or distinguish;
having nice discrimination; acute; penetrating; sagacious;
clever; as, a sharp eye; sharp sight, hearing, or
judgment.
[1913 Webster]
Nothing makes men sharper . . . than want.
--Addison.
[1913 Webster]
Many other things belong to the material world,
wherein the sharpest philosophers have never ye?
arrived at clear and distinct ideas. --L. Watts.
[1913 Webster]
8. Eager in pursuit; keen in quest; impatient for
gratification; keen; as, a sharp appetite.
[1913 Webster]
9. Fierce; ardent; fiery; violent; impetuous. "In sharp
contest of battle." --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
A sharp assault already is begun. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
10. Keenly or unduly attentive to one's own interest; close
and exact in dealing; shrewd; as, a sharp dealer; a sharp
customer.
[1913 Webster]
The necessity of being so sharp and exacting.
--Swift.
[1913 Webster]
11. Composed of hard, angular grains; gritty; as, sharp sand.
--Moxon.
[1913 Webster]
12. Steep; precipitous; abrupt; as, a sharp ascent or
descent; a sharp turn or curve.
[1913 Webster]
13. (Phonetics) Uttered in a whisper, or with the breath
alone, without voice, as certain consonants, such as p,
k, t, f; surd; nonvocal; aspirated.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Sharp is often used in the formation of self-explaining
compounds; as, sharp-cornered, sharp-edged,
sharp-pointed, sharp-tasted, sharp-visaged, etc.
[1913 Webster]
Sharp practice, the getting of an advantage, or the attempt
to do so, by a tricky expedient.
To brace sharp, or To sharp up (Naut.), to turn the yards
to the most oblique position possible, that the ship may
lie well up to the wind.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Keen; acute; piercing; penetrating; quick; sagacious;
discerning; shrewd; witty; ingenious; sour; acid; tart;
pungent; acrid; severe; poignant; biting; acrimonious;
sarcastic; cutting; bitter; painful; afflictive;
violent; harsh; fierce; ardent; fiery.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Sharper \Sharp"er\, n.
A person who bargains closely, especially, one who cheats in
bargains; a swinder; also, a cheating gamester.
[1913 Webster]
Sharpers, as pikes, prey upon their own kind.
--L'Estrange.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Swindler; cheat; deceiver; trickster; rogue. See
Swindler.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
sharper
n 1: a professional card player who makes a living by cheating
at card games [syn: cardsharp, card sharp,
cardsharper, card sharper, sharper, sharpie,
sharpy, card shark]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
56 Moby Thesaurus words for "sharper":
adventurer, betting ring, bettor, boneshaker, bunco artist,
bunco steerer, cardshark, cardsharp, cardsharper, carpetbagger,
cheat, compulsive gambler, con artist, con man, confidence man,
crap shooter, crimp, defrauder, diddler, double-dealer, gambler,
gamester, gyp, hazarder, horse coper, horse trader, jackleg,
land pirate, land shark, land-grabber, mortgage shark, mountebank,
pettifogger, petty gambler, piker, pitchman, player, plunger,
punter, shark, sharp, sharpie, shortchanger, shyster, slicker,
speculator, spieler, sport, sporting man, sportsman, tinhorn,
tipster, tout, trickster, venturer, wagerer