ˈshrüd, esp South ˈsrüd, dial ˈswüd adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English shrewed, from shrewe + -ed
1.
a. archaic : causing trouble : mischievous , naughty
a shrewd and knavish spirit called Robin Goodfellow — Shakespeare
b. obsolete : causing injury : hurtful
an ant … is a shrewd thing in an orchard — Francis Bacon
2. obsolete : marked by bad temper : shrewish , abusive
shrewd words … improved into smart blows — Thomas Fuller
thou wilt never get thee a husband if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue — Shakespeare
3.
a. obsolete : tending to disadvantage : ominous , unfortunate
b. : beset with hardships or difficulties : dangerous , distressing
the ordeal of a situation shrewd as any that can happen to her sex in civilized life — George Meredith
4.
a. : severe , hard
a shrewd knock
gives out shrewd galvanic shocks — R.L.Stevenson
give you a shrewd kick in the wind — Punch
b. : biting , piercing
a shrewd wind
the first shrewd gust of a storm — S.H.Adams
5.
a. : marked by cleverness, discernment, or sagacity : astute , keen
shrewd observer
shrewd design
shrewd reply
shrewd business sense
shrewd appraisal of political maneuvers — W.A.Swanberg
b. : marked by artfulness or trickiness : wily
a shrewd operator — Irving Bacheller
c. : penetrating near the truth : knowing
shrewd guess
shrewd suspicion
had a very shrewd idea where to look for her — Margery Allingham
d. : sharp and searching
a shrewd eye
an inspection of the shrewdest sort — Sarah O. Jewett
Synonyms:
sagacious , perspicacious , astute : shrewd may describe a blended practical, hardheaded cleverness, judgment, and acute perception
could on occasions be surprisingly shrewd — she had a habit of seeing through people's words right down into their motives — Victoria Sackville-West
he is shrewd, sharp, hard and acute, and he is, one believes, the greatest master of the art of publicity and propaganda to arise in this generation — Sidney Hyman
sagacious may connote wisdom, penetration, discernment, farsightedness and, above all, keen mature judgment
his strength was in his sagacious sifting of practical ideas from the mass of suggestions proffered by his contemporaries — T.D.McCormick
a strategical withdrawal might have been sagacious here — C.H.Sykes
perspicacious may indicate unusual power to perceive or understand what is obscure or mysterious
these were the fundamental difficulties, but few men were perspicacious enough to appreciate them — Allan Nevins & H.S.Commager
those blind spots which are found in the most perspicacious mortals — L.P.Smith
astute may indicate mature shrewd perspicacity with especially careful discretion, wise diplomacy, and calculated discernment
a masterpiece of calculated cajolery from an astute adventuress — J.C.Powys
astute financiers who see in the large organization an easier mechanism for their manipulations of credit, for their inflation of capital values, for their monopolistic controls — Lewis Mumford