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.
Synonyms
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.
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
Haunted by an investigation that went unsolved years ago, the aged and beleaguered yet incredibly astute Deke is drawn back into the world of homicide after teaming up with the young, driven, idealistic Jim Baxter (Malek).
—Travis Bean, Forbes, 23 Nov. 2024
The Polish festival could hardly ask for a jury chair more astute to the nuances of craft behind the camera as well as in front of it.
—Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Nov. 2024
With astute planning and policies, countries can survive and even thrive as their societies grow older.
—Vegard Skirbekk, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2024
Employers welcome candidates who have been astute enough to purposefully develop their communication, leadership and organizational skills to enable them to stay current in the face of working landscape changes like remote and asynchronous work.
—Al Kingsley, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for astute 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Travis Bean, Forbes, 23 Nov. 2024
The Polish festival could hardly ask for a jury chair more astute to the nuances of craft behind the camera as well as in front of it.
—Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Nov. 2024
With astute planning and policies, countries can survive and even thrive as their societies grow older.
—Vegard Skirbekk, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2024
Employers welcome candidates who have been astute enough to purposefully develop their communication, leadership and organizational skills to enable them to stay current in the face of working landscape changes like remote and asynchronous work.
—Al Kingsley, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for astute
Dictionary Entries Near astute
Cite this Entry
“Astute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astute. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share