Synonyms of shrewd

shrewd

adjective

ˈshrüd 

1

as in smart

having or showing a practical cleverness or judgment

a shrewd used car dealer who knew how to make the best possible deal

shrewd investments that paid off big

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

2

as in bitter

causing intense discomfort to one's skin

she pulled her coat tighter against the shrewd breeze whipping down the alley

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bitter
• sharp
• biting
• keen
• brisk
• penetrating
• stinging
• piercing
• raw
• cutting
• smarting
• snappy
• caustic
• corrosive
• invigorating
• nippy
• prickly
• needlelike
• tingling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• gentle
• mild
• soothing
• balmy

3

as in cunning

clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means

a shrewd operator in the real estate game, she made every buyer think they were getting the deal of the century

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cunning
• cute
• slick
• subtle
• wily
• deceptive
• fraudulent
• dishonest
• sly
• treacherous
• crooked
• artful
• crafty
• devious
• cagey
• beguiling
• tricky
• designing
• scheming
• guileful
• foxy
• astute
• deceitful
• calculating
• dodgy
• sharp
• shady
• slippery
• unscrupulous
• glib
• Machiavellian
• sneaky
• covert
• oblique
• shifty
• facile
• plotting
• clandestine
• knavish
• underhanded
• undercover
• hypocritical
• circular
• underhand
• insincere
• serpentine
• roundabout
• secret
• circuitous
• surreptitious
• concealed
• backhanded
• stealthy
• furtive
• insinuating
• smooth-tongued
• two-faced
• mealy
• double-dealing
• left-handed
• mealymouthed
• hugger-mugger

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ingenuous
• guileless
• artless
• innocent
• obvious
• public
• plain
• simple
• honest
• sincere
• straightforward
• outspoken
• forthright
• real
• direct
• open
• candid
• frank
• unaffected
• unpretentious
• unconcealed
• natural
• unsophisticated
• unvarnished
• patent
• impressionable
• childlike
• unpretending
• unworldly
• aboveboard
• simpleminded
• plainspoken
• undesigning
• unstudied
• trusting
• trustful
• unforced

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective shrewd differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of shrewd are astute, perspicacious, and sagacious. While all these words mean "acute in perception and sound in judgment," shrewd stresses practical, hardheaded cleverness and judgment.

a shrewd judge of character

When is it sensible to use astute instead of shrewd?

While the synonyms astute and shrewd are close in meaning, astute suggests shrewdness, perspicacity, and diplomatic skill.

an astute player of party politics

When could perspicacious be used to replace shrewd?

The meanings of perspicacious and shrewd largely overlap; however, 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 shrewd?

While in some cases nearly identical to shrewd, sagacious suggests wisdom, penetration, and farsightedness.

sagacious investors got in on the ground floor

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of shrewd

But even here, Wilde’s stylistic choices can veer from shrewd to overly studied. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 19 June 2026

The money mega-booster Cody Campbell and company spent for their suddenly elite defensive line, led by David Bailey, proved to be a shrewd investment. — Bruce Feldman, New York Times, 16 June 2026

On top of doggedly tracking a serial killer whose murder spree started decades earlier, our shrewd heroine uncovers a tangled workplace conspiracy that's as sinister as her prime suspect's motives. — Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 15 June 2026

The Robin of the story’s end is shrewder than the boy who arrived in the city hours before. — John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026