Synonyms of astute

astute

adjective

ə-ˈstüt 

as in smart

having or showing a practical cleverness or judgment

a police detective known to be an astute judge of character

Synonyms & Similar Words

• smart
• shrewd
• savvy
• wise
• sharp
• intelligent
• clever
• brilliant
• experienced
• knowing
• veteran
• hardheaded
• keen
• canny
• heady
• clear-eyed
• cunning
• clear-sighted
• sharp-witted
• quick
• perceptive
• bright
• insightful
• subtle
• sagacious
• wily
• perspicacious
• slick
• sly
• artful
• discerning
• hard-boiled
• crafty
• cagey
• tricky
• devious
• resourceful
• foxy
• sage
• guileful
• percipient
• ingenious
• pawky
• sapient
• cagy
• nimble
• apt
• brainy
• discriminating
• discriminative
• agile
• alert
• dodgy
• sharp-eyed
• quick-witted
• calculating
• scheming
• sharp-sighted

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• naive
• naïve
• ingenuous
• guileless
• unknowing
• artless
• gullible
• innocent
• unwise
• exploitable
• unperceptive
• obtuse
• dense
• dumb
• simple
• stupid
• foolish
• slow
• unintelligent
• dull
• idiotic
• dopey
• thoughtless
• ignorant
• uninformed
• silly
• feebleminded
• brain-dead
• brainless
• moronic
• gullable
• thickheaded
• weak-minded
• imbecile
• imbecilic
• witless
• dim-witted
• knuckleheaded
• gormless
• slow-witted
• softheaded
• empty-headed
• lamebrained
• lamebrain
• half-witted
• airheaded
• lunkheaded
• dopy
• thick-witted
• idiotical
• birdbrained

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective astute differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of astute are perspicacious, sagacious, and shrewd. While all these words mean "acute in perception and sound in judgment," astute suggests shrewdness, perspicacity, and diplomatic skill.

an astute player of party politics

When could perspicacious be used to replace astute?

While in some cases nearly identical to astute, perspicacious implies unusual power to see through and understand what is puzzling or hidden.

a perspicacious counselor saw through the child's facade

When might sagacious be a better fit than astute?

In some situations, the words sagacious and astute are roughly equivalent. However, sagacious suggests wisdom, penetration, and farsightedness.

sagacious investors got in on the ground floor

When would shrewd be a good substitute for astute?

Although the words shrewd and astute have much in common, shrewd stresses practical, hardheaded cleverness and judgment.

a shrewd judge of character

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of astute

Another accidental productive out and some astute baserunning in the second inning brought in their second run. —Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Sep. 2025

The astute businesswoman was heralded by our Forever First Lady Michelle Obama after Chapman helped Black women lean into their love of the former FLOTUS’s groundbreaking memoir, Becoming. —Bridgette Bartlett, Essence, 16 Sep. 2025

McDonnell will portray Jen, the astute mother-in-law to John (Holloway) who looks after his daughters after an electromagnetic pulse attack throws society into chaos. —Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 15 Sep. 2025

Instead of viewing this as a lack of ambition, astute employers will recognize it as a wake-up call about what motivates the future workforce in a post-social contract age. —Cynthia Pong, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025

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