astute

adjective

as·​tute ə-ˈstüt How to pronounce astute (audio)
a-,
-ˈstyüt
: having or showing shrewdness and an ability to notice and understand things clearly : mentally sharp or clever
an astute observer
astute remarks
also : crafty, wily
astutely adverb
astuteness noun

Did you know?

Astute comes from the Latin noun astus, meaning "craft." The word implies being keenly observant and forming sound judgments based on knowledge and experience.

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

Examples of astute in a Sentence

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
He is an astute observer of the current political scene. Astute readers will notice the error. His analysis of the battle was very astute.
Recent Examples on the Web That's a really astute question, and that was really my first question going into this. Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024 Some astute observers might argue the evolution is most evident in an enclave called Edgewater, located directly on the Biscayne Bay waterfront between North 37th and North 17th Streets, near Miami Beach, the Design District, Midtown, Wynwood and Downtown. Jeffrey Steele, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for astute 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'astute.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin astutus, from astus craft

First Known Use

1565, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of astute was in 1565

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Cite this Entry

“Astute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astute. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

astute

adjective
as·​tute ə-ˈst(y)üt How to pronounce astute (audio)
a-
: having or showing understanding and the skill to make good choices or decisions : wise, shrewd
an astute investor
astutely adverb
astuteness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on astute

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