shrewdness [
'ʃru:dnis]
n. 精明(刁钻,剧烈)
shrewdness[ noun ]
intelligence manifested by being astute (as in business dealings)
<noun.cognition>
Shrewd \Shrewd\, a. [Compar. {Shrewder}; superl. {Shrewdest}.]
[Originally the p. p. of shrew, v.t.]
1. Inclining to shrew; disposing to curse or scold; hence,
vicious; malicious; evil; wicked; mischievous; vexatious;
rough; unfair; shrewish. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
[Egypt] hath many shrewd havens, because of the
great rocks that ben strong and dangerous to pass
by. --Sir J.
Mandeville.
Every of this happy number
That have endured shrewd days and nights with us.
--Shak.
2. Artful; wily; cunning; arch.
These women are shrewd tempters with their tongues.
--Shak.
3. Able or clever in practical affairs; sharp in business;
astute; sharp-witted; sagacious; keen; as, a shrewd
observer; a shrewd design; a shrewd reply.
Professing to despise the ill opinion of mankind
creates a shrewd suspicion that we have deserved it.
--Secker.
Syn: Keen; critical; subtle; artful; astute; sagacious;
discerning; acute; penetrating.
Usage: {Shrewd}, {Sagacious}. One who is shrewd is keen to
detect errors, to penetrate disguises, to foresee and
guard against the selfishness of others. Shrewd is a
word of less dignity than sagacious, which implies a
comprehensive as well as penetrating mind, whereas
shrewd does not.
※ -- {Shrewd"ly}, adv. -- {Shrewd"ness},
n.
- President Mohammed Zia ul-Haq was a dictator who blended firmness with political shrewdness in a formula that kept him in power 11 years, longer than anyone else in Pakistan's 41-year history.
- VERBATIM by Jacques Attali Fayard, 958 pages PRECISION, shrewdness, ability to concentrate on essentials: one would expect to see a combination of all these characteristics in a top civil servant.