SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
shrewdness
noun
Sharp practical judgment and an ability to recognize what matters.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Practical acumen
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topShrewdness emphasizes grasping a situation and judging advantage effectively. Cleverness may concern quick invention without comparable sound judgment.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See shrewdness in use
Her shrewdness helped the group spot a costly flaw in the proposal.
At a student poster sale, Sal was perceptive enough to notice that a tiny change in spacing altered the mood of two otherwise similar designs. A discriminating buyer, she compared their printing quality and composition rather than choosing solely by size. Her shrewdness appeared when she asked whether the price included a suitable frame before committing her limited budget.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license