different between shrewd vs ingenious

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 16^th c., gradually gaining a positive connotation by 17^th c.

Pronunciation

• enPR: shro?od, IPA^(key): /??u?d/

• Rhymes: -u?d

Adjective

shrewd (comparative shrewder, superlative shrewdest)

1. Showing clever resourcefulness in practical matters.
2. Artful, tricky or cunning.
3. (informal) Streetwise, street-smart.
4. Knowledgeable, intelligent, keen.
5. Nigh accurate.

6. Severe, intense, hard.

7. Sharp, snithy, piercing.

8. (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!— […]

9. (obsolete) Portending, boding.
10. (archaic) Noxious, scatheful, mischievous.
11. (obsolete) Abusive, shrewish.
12. (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.

Derived terms

• shrewdly
• shrewdness

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• engenious (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French ingénieux, from Old French engenious, from Latin ingeni?sus (“endowed with good natural capacity, gifted with genius”), from ingenium (“innate or natural quality, natural capacity, genius”), from in- (“in”) +? gignere (“to produce”), Old Latin genere. See also engine.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?d?i?nj?s/, /?n?d?i?ni?s/
• Rhymes: -i?ni?s
• Hyphenation: in?ge?nious

Adjective

ingenious (comparative more ingenious, superlative most ingenious)

1. (of a person) Displaying genius or brilliance; tending to invent.

2. (of a thing) Characterized by genius; cleverly done or contrived.

3. Witty; original; shrewd; adroit; keen; sagacious.

Usage notes

Do not confuse with ingenuous.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:witty
• See also Thesaurus:intelligent

Related terms

Translations

References

• ingenious in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ingenious in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.