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?

Road Runner always bests Wile E. Coyote in the famous Looney Tunes cartoon series, but both characters help demonstrate meanings of the word astute. Astute comes from the Latin adjective astutus, meaning “cunning, crafty, or clever,” which in turn comes from the noun astus, meaning “craft.” The English adjective, accordingly, can describe both the crafty and the wily. It’s easy to see how this applies to Wile E. Coyote: in each episode, Road Runner races along the highways of the American Southwest while the coyote sets an elaborate trap for the bird, usually with the aid of some goofy product ordered from the fictitious Acme company. But alas, Road Runner is astute, as in “mentally sharp or clever.” In other words, he is not only quick on his feet, but quick on the uptake. He usually catches wind of the schemes, which ultimately backfire due to either the products’ chronic unreliability or Coyote’s own ineptitude. Road Runner, never captured or damaged, responds with a characteristic “Beep! Beep!” and runs off.

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
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.
Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford have proven to be astute additions with the ability to alter the flow of games from the bench. Anantaajith Raghuraman, The Athletic, 11 Mar. 2025 However, if Means returns to anything close to his 2019 form, the Guardians will have made a very astute investment. Bernie Pleskoff, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025 Chances are that Hausmann-Stokes — and the team of fellow vets behind-the-scenes or in front of the camera — has seen enough bloodshed, and is astute enough to know that his film’s audience doesn’t need more of that imagery either. Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 27 Feb. 2025 Both companies are dominant in their industries and feature very strong, astute leadership. Stockstory Team, CNBC, 22 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for astute

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 13 Mar. 2025.

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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