1.
[syn: shrewdness, astuteness, perspicacity, perspicaciousness]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Shrewd \Shrewd\, a. [Compar. Shrewder; superl. Shrewdest.]
[Originally the p. p. of shrew, v.t.]
1. Inclining to shrew; disposing to curse or scold; hence,
vicious; malicious; evil; wicked; mischievous; vexatious;
rough; unfair; shrewish. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
[Egypt] hath many shrewd havens, because of the
great rocks that ben strong and dangerous to pass
by. --Sir J.
Mandeville.
[1913 Webster]
Every of this happy number
That have endured shrewd days and nights with us.
--Shak.
[1913 Webster]
2. Artful; wily; cunning; arch.
[1913 Webster]
These women are shrewd tempters with their tongues.
--Shak.
[1913 Webster]
3. Able or clever in practical affairs; sharp in business;
astute; sharp-witted; sagacious; keen; as, a shrewd
observer; a shrewd design; a shrewd reply.
[1913 Webster]
Professing to despise the ill opinion of mankind
creates a shrewd suspicion that we have deserved it.
--Secker.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Keen; critical; subtle; artful; astute; sagacious;
discerning; acute; penetrating.
Usage: Shrewd, Sagacious. One who is shrewd is keen to
detect errors, to penetrate disguises, to foresee and
guard against the selfishness of others. Shrewd is a
word of less dignity than sagacious, which implies a
comprehensive as well as penetrating mind, whereas
shrewd does not.
[1913 Webster] -- Shrewd"ly, adv. -- Shrewd"ness,
n.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
shrewdness
n 1: intelligence manifested by being astute (as in business
dealings) [syn: shrewdness, astuteness, perspicacity,
perspicaciousness]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
57 Moby Thesaurus words for "shrewdness":
Italian hand, acumen, acuteness, animal cunning, art, artfulness,
artifice, astuteness, cageyness, callidity, canniness, cleverness,
craft, craftiness, cunning, cunningness, deviousness, discernment,
discrimination, fine Italian hand, finesse, foxiness, gamesmanship,
guile, guilefulness, ingeniousness, insidiousness, inventiveness,
keenness, low cunning, one-upmanship, pawkiness, penetration,
percipience, perspicacity, readiness, resourcefulness,
satanic cunning, sharpness, shiftiness, slickness, slipperiness,
slyness, sneakiness, sophistry, stealth, stealthiness, subtility,
subtilty, subtleness, subtlety, suppleness, trickiness, wariness,
wiles, wiliness, wit