different between cunning vs shrewd
cunning
English
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -?n??
- IPA(key): /?k?n??/
Etymology 1
From Middle English cunning, kunning, konnyng, alteration of earlier Middle English cunninde, kunnende, cunnand, from Old English cunnende, present participle of cunnan (“to know how to, be able to”), equivalent to con +? -ing. Cognate with Scots cunnand (“cunning”), German könnend (“able to do”), Icelandic kunnandi (“cunning”). More at con, can.
Adjective
cunning (comparative more cunning, superlative most cunning)
- Sly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour.
- They are resolved to be cunning; let others run the hazard of being sincere.
- (obsolete) Skillful, artful.
- Esau was a cunning hunter.
- a cunning workman
- (obsolete) Wrought with, or exhibiting, skill or ingenuity; ingenious.
- cunning work
- (US, colloquial, dated, New England) Cute, appealing.
- a cunning little boy
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Bartlett to this entry?)
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:wily
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English cunning, kunnyng, partially from Old English *cunning (verbal noun), from Old English cunnan (“to know how to, be able to”); partially from Old English cunnung (“knowledge, trial, probation, experience, contact, carnal knowledge”), from cunnian (“to search into, try, test, seek for, explore, investigate, experience, have experience of, to make trial of, know”), equivalent to con +? -ing.
Noun
cunning (countable and uncountable, plural cunnings)
- Practical knowledge or experience; aptitude in performance; skill, proficiency; dexterity.
- 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 236d.
- indeed at this very moment he's slipped away with the utmost cunning into a form that's most perplexing to investigate.
- 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 236d.
- Practical skill employed in a secret or crafty manner; craft; artifice; skillful deceit; art or magic.
- c. 1610-11, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act III scene ii[1]:
- Caliban: As I told thee before, I am subject to a tyrant, a sorcerer that by his cunning hath cheated me of the island.
- c. 1610-11, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act III scene ii[1]:
- The disposition to employ one's skill in an artful manner; craftiness; guile; artifice; skill of being cunning, sly, conniving, or deceitful.
- The natural wit or instincts of an animal.
- the cunning of the fox or hare
- (obsolete) Knowledge; learning; special knowledge (sometimes implying occult or magical knowledge).
Synonyms
- craftiness
- foxship
- list
Translations
cunning From the web:
- what cunning means
- what cunning plan backfires for nicholas
- what's cunning linguist
- what's cunning man
- cunningham meaning
- what's cunning in german
- what cunningly devised fables
- cunningness meaning
shrewd
English
Alternative forms
- shrewde (obsolete)
Etymology
c. 1300, Middle English schrewed (“depraved; wicked”, literally “accursed”), from schrewen (“to curse; beshrew”), from schrewe, schrowe, screwe (“evil or wicked person/thing”), from Old English scr?awa (“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.
Pronunciation
- enPR: shro?od, IPA(key): /??u?d/
- Rhymes: -u?d
Adjective
shrewd (comparative shrewder, superlative shrewdest)
- Showing clever resourcefulness in practical matters.
- Artful, tricky or cunning.
- (informal) Streetwise, street-smart.
- Knowledgeable, intelligent, keen.
- Nigh accurate.
- Severe, intense, hard.
- Sharp, snithy, piercing.
- (archaic) Bad, evil, threatening.
- 1596-97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act III Scene ii:
- Portia:
- There are some shrewd contents in yon same paper,
- That steals the colours from Bassanio's cheek:
- Some dear friend dead; else nothing in the world
- Could turn so much the constitution
- Of any constant man. What, worse and worse!— […]
- 1596-97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act III Scene ii:
- (obsolete) Portending, boding.
- (archaic) Noxious, scatheful, mischievous.
- (obsolete) Abusive, shrewish.
- (archaic) Scolding, satirical, sharp.
- 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act II Scene i:
- Leonato: By my troth, niece, thou wilt never get thee a husband, if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue.
- 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act II Scene i:
Derived terms
- shrewdly
- shrewdness
Translations
shrewd From the web:
- what shrewd means
- shrewdest meaning
- what is meant by shrewd
- what's shrewd in arabic
- what shrewdness synonym
- shrewd what does it mean
- shrewdest what does it mean
- what does shrewd mean in the bible
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