different between shrewd vs shred

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

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /???d/
• Rhymes: -?d

Etymology 1

From Middle English shrede, shred, from Old English s?r?ad, s?r?ade, from Proto-Germanic *skraud? (“a cut, shred”). Doublet of escrow.

Noun

shred (plural shreds)

1. A long, narrow piece cut or torn off; a strip.
2. In general, a fragment; a piece; a particle; a very small amount.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:modicum.

Related terms

• screed

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English shreden, from Old English s?r?adian, from Proto-West Germanic *skraud?n, related to Proto-West Germanic *skraudan (“to cut up, shred”).

Verb

shred (third-person singular simple present shreds, present participle shredding, simple past shredded, past participle shredded or shred)

1. To cut or tear into narrow and long pieces or strips.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)
2. To reduce by a large percentage.
3. (obsolete, transitive) To lop; to prune; to trim.
4. (snowboarding) To ride aggressively.
5. (bodybuilding) To drop fat and water weight before a competition.
6. (music, slang) To play very fast (especially guitar solos in rock and metal genres).

Derived terms

• shredder

Translations

References

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• herds, sherd