If you describe someone as astute, you think they show an understanding of behaviour and situations, and are skilful at using this knowledge to their own advantage. She was politically astute He made a series of astute business decisions. = shrewd + astutely as·tute·ly Oxford, as Evelyn Waugh astutely observed, is a city best seen in early summer. = shrewdly. able to understand situations or behaviour very well and very quickly, especially so that you can get an advantage for yourself = clever (astutus, from astus )
marked by practical hardheaded intelligence; "a smart businessman"; "an astute tenant always reads the small print in a lease"; "he was too shrewd to go along with them on a road that could lead only to their overthrow"
Quick at seeing how to gain advantage, especially for oneself; shrewd; critically discerning