shrewly

S1H4R1E1W4L1Y4

adverb

In a shrewish manner, shrewdly, sharply.

OriginMiddle English shreuli →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

adverbshrewly (comparative more shrewly, superlative most shrewly)

comparative more shrewly · superlative most shrewly

  1. archaicrareIn a shrewish manner, shrewdly, sharply.

    The Society have, it seems, invented a cunning machine, shrewly yclept a Torpedo, […]

    1897, Washington Irving, Works: Life of George Washington, page 343

Origin

  1. Middle Englishshreuli
  2. Englishshrewly

From Middle English shreuli, schrewelich, equivalent to shrew + -ly.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Welshry
Cite this entry
APA

shrewly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shrewly

MLA

“shrewly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shrewly. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shrewly,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shrewly.

Source: shrewly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.