shrewd
pronunciation
How to pronounce shrewd in British English:
UK [ʃruːd]
How to pronounce shrewd in American English:
US [ʃruːd]
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- Adjective:
- marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
- used of persons
Word Origin
- shrewd
- shrewd: [14] Shrewd originally meant ‘wicked, dangerous’. Its modern sense ‘astute’ did not develop (via a less approbatory ‘cunning’) until the 16th century. It was derived from shrew ‘wicked man’ (a sense now obsolete). This is generally assumed to be the same noun as shrew the animal-name [OE], a word of uncertain origin. Shrews were formerly thought to have a poisonous bite, and were held in superstitious fear – hence the term’s metaphorical application. The move from ‘wicked man’ via ‘bad-tempered abusive complainer’ to ‘nagging woman’ began in the 14th century.=> shrew
- shrewd (adj.)
- c. 1300, "wicked, evil," from shrewe "wicked man" (see shrew). Compare crabbed from crab (n.), dogged from dog (n.), wicked from witch (n.). The sense of "cunning" is first recorded 1510s. Related: Shrewdly; shrewdness. Strutt's "Sports and Pastimes of the People of England" (1801) has a shrewdness of apes for a company or group of them. Shrewdie "cunning person" is from 1916.
Example
- 1. It is shrewd politics to champion the little guy .
- 2. It was a shrewd short-term move .
- 3. This shrewd , short book explains why .
- 4. But he lacks his predecessor 's charisma and shrewd policy instincts .
- 5. It was a shrewd move .