First Known Use: 1565
Dictionary
astute
adjective as·tute \ə-ˈstüt, a-, -ˈstyüt\
: having or showing an ability to notice and understand things clearly : mentally sharp or clever
Full Definition of ASTUTE
: having or showing shrewdness and perspicacity <an astute observer> <astute remarks>; also : crafty, wily
— as·tute·ly adverb
— as·tute·ness noun
See astute defined for English-language learners
See astute defined for kids
ADVERTISEMENT
Examples of ASTUTE
- We thought they were not very intellectually astute, but we didn't really understand how political a lot of what they were doing was. —Ben Wallace-Wells, Rolling Stone, 15 Nov. 2007
- He asked astute diagnosticians around the country how they approached and cracked difficult diagnoses and what happened when they failed. Misdiagnosis is not an insignificant problem: Groopman cites a finding that between one in six and one in seven patients is incorrectly assessed. —Ruth Levy Guyer, Wilson Quarterly, Summer 2007
- And finally, even if she had never actually uttered the bon mot that would be famously attributed to her, that if she had two heads, she would risk one in the king's service, could the astute young duchess actually have had input into the implausible negotiations? —Harvey Rachlin, Scandals, Vandals, and Da Vincis, 2007
- Focusing largely upon Western alchemy during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, she has a sharp eye for how alchemical images surface in literature of that period. Readers of Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, and William Shakespeare will find illuminating insights. Abraham reveals the far reaches of her astute literary intelligence by analyzing alchemical imagery encoded in a broad range of works, from Chaucer and Milton to Vladimir Nabokov and P.G. Wodehouse. —Norman Weinstein, Parabola, November 1999
- [+]more
Origin of ASTUTE
Latin astutus, from astus craft
Related to ASTUTE
- Synonyms
- shrewd, canny, clear-eyed, clear-sighted, hard-boiled, hardheaded, heady, knowing, savvy, sharp, sharp-witted, smart
- Antonyms
- unknowing
Synonym Discussion of ASTUTE
shrewd, sagacious, perspicacious, astute mean acute in perception and sound in judgment. shrewd stresses practical, hardheaded cleverness and judgment <a shrewd judge of character>. sagacious suggests wisdom, penetration, and farsightedness <sagacious investors got in on the ground floor>. perspicacious implies unusual power to see through and understand what is puzzling or hidden <a perspicacious counselor saw through the child's facade>. astute suggests shrewdness, perspicacity, and diplomatic skill <an astute player of party politics>.
Rhymes with ASTUTE
acute, Asyût, bear fruit, beetroot, Beirut, birthroot, bloodroot, breadfruit, butut, cahoot, Canute, catsuit, cheroot, choucroute, clubroot, commute, compute, confute, crapshoot, cube root, deaf-mute, depute, dilute, dispute, dry suit, elute, en route, enroot, flight suit, folkmoot, freeboot, galoot, grapefruit, G suit, hardboot, hip boot, hirsute, imbrute, impute, jackboot, jackfruit, jumpsuit, kashruth, lawsuit, long suit, lounge suit, minute, nonsuit, offshoot, outshoot, Paiute, pantsuit, permute, playsuit, pollute, pursuit, recruit, refute, repute, salute, sans doute, seaboot, snowsuit, solute, square root, star fruit, star route, statute, strong suit, sunsuit, sweat suit, swimsuit, take root, taproot, to boot, tracksuit, trade route, transmute, tribute, uproot, volute, wet suit, zoot suit
ASTUTELY Defined for Kids
astute
adjective as·tute \ə-ˈstüt, -ˈstyüt\
Definition of ASTUTE for Kids
: very alert and aware : clever <an astute observer>
— as·tute·ly adverb <He astutely pointed out the fake jewels.>
Learn More About ASTUTE
Browse
ADVERTISEMENT
Seen & Heard
What made you want to look up astute? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).