Shrewd means sharply clever in judging people and deals. A shrewd businesswoman, a shrewd guess, shrewd judgement.
It is admiring but never warm: shrewd praises the judgement and says nothing about the motive, which is why it suits negotiators, investors and observers. A shrewd guess is one that turns out right for good reasons. Note shrewdly, shrewdness; and that the word originally meant wicked, from shrew — an animal thought venomous — and softened through cunning to merely astute.
1adjectiveshrewdSharply clever in judging people and deals.
“She was a shrewd businesswoman who always knew exactly when to sell.”
synonyms: astute, canny
shrewd is a quality of sharp judgement.
Also accepted in games: astute
Middle English schrewed meant depraved, from schrewe, a wicked person, from Old English screawa, a shrew. The animal was believed venomous, and the insult softened over four hundred years into a compliment.
Old English
sċrēawa — wicked person
Middle English
schrewed — depraved; wicked
English, today
shrewd
Built from
From Middle English schrewed (“depraved; wicked”) literally “accursed”, from schrewen (“to curse; beshrew”), from schrewe, schrowe, screwe (“evil or wicked person/thing”), from Old English sċrēawa (“wicked person”) literally “biter”. Equivalent to shrew + ed. More at shrew. The sense of "cunning" developed in early 16th c., gradually gaining a positive connotation by 17th c.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA