Sharply — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Related Entry: Sharp (adjective)

Sharp is a different word from Sharply. The synonyms below are for sharp, not for sharply.

1. having an edge thin enough to cut or pierce something

   "be careful, as that knife is sharp enough to slice off a finger"

   similar: cutting, edged, edgy, ground, honed, keen, sharpened, stropped, trenchant, whetted
   related: clawlike, daggerlike, knifelike, jabbing, jagged, lacerating, piercing, scratching, stabbing, pointed, pointy, spiky
   opposite: blunt, blunted, dull, dulled, obtuse
   near: rounded, smooth, soft, even, flat, level, slick

2. having a powerfully stimulating odor or flavor

   "that cheese is so sharp that its rank aroma can practically clear a room"

   similar: nippy, pungent, strong, tangy
   related: acid, acidic, acrid, bitter, harsh, gingery, hot, peppery, piquant, spicy, tart, zesty, zingy, putrid, rancid, rank, skunky, acute, keen, animating, energizing, exciting, galvanizing, invigorating, provocative, appetizing, delectable, delicious, palatable, toothsome, flavorful, savory, tasty, aromatic, redolent
   opposite: bland, mild, smooth
   near: aged, mellow, ripe, gentle, soft, flat, flavorless, insipid, savorless, tasteless, zestless, dilute, thin, watery, weak

3. tapering to a thin tip

   "tipped with a sharp arrowhead"

   similar: peaked, pointed, pointy, spired, tipped
   related: needlelike, spiny, barbed, jagged, pronged, spiked, spikelike, spiky, bladelike, knifelike
   opposite: blunt
   near: dull, rounded

4. being in the latest or current fashion

   "wore a sharp suit to his first big job interview"

   similar: à la mode, au courant, chic, cool (slang), exclusive, fashionable, fresh (slang), happening, hip, in, modish, smart, snappy, stylish, supercool, swell, swish, trendy, voguish
   related: downtown, edgy, funky, dapper, dashing, dressy, kicky, natty, rakish, sassy, saucy, spiffy, spruce, chichi, classy, flossy, haute, nobby, posh, ritzy, soigné, swank, elegant, graceful, handsome, majestic, refined, sophisticated, stately, tasteful, understated, doggish, doggy, flashy, gallant, dandyish, dudish, foppish, ultrachic, ultracool, ultrahip, ultraposh, ultrasmart, ultrasophisticated
   opposite: dowdy, out, outmoded, styleless, unchic, uncool, unfashionable, unmodish, unstylish
   near: cheesy, tacky, unattractive, unbecoming, graceless, inelegant, tasteless, trashy, unhandsome, frowsy, sloppy, slovenly, unkempt, untidy, disheveled, messy, mussy, rumpled, wrinkled, shabby, sleazy

5. being strikingly neat and trim in style or appearance

   "a television personality who's known as a sharp dresser"

   similar: dapper, natty, smart, snappy, spruce
   related: dolled up, dressy, elegant, formal, spiffed-up, orderly, tidy, à la mode, chic, fashionable, in, modish, stylish, careful, fastidious, fussy, meticulous, combed, groomed, clean, immaculate, pristine, spotless, squeaky-clean
   opposite: disheveled, frowsy, sloppy, slovenly, unkempt
   near: messy, mussed, rumpled, uncombed, untidy, wrinkled, shabby, sleazy, dingy, dirty, filthy, foul, grimy, grubby, nasty, scroungy, scrubby, scruffy, scuzzy (slang), smirched, soiled, spotted, stained, sullied, unclean, dowdy, inelegant, unfashionable, unstylish

6. causing intense discomfort to one's skin

   "I got chapped lips from sailing all day in that sharp wind"

   similar: biting, bitter, cutting, keen, penetrating, piercing, raw, shrewd, smarting, stinging
   related: brisk, invigorating, nippy, snappy, needlelike, prickly, tingling, caustic, corrosive
   near: balmy, gentle, mild, soothing

7. given to or marked by cheating and deception

   "sharp business practices that are being investigated by the state's consumer protection agency"

   similar: bent (chiefly British), crooked, deceptive, dishonest, double-dealing, duplicitous, fast, fraudulent, guileful, rogue, shady, shifty, underhand, underhanded
   related: unconscionable, unethical, unprincipled, unscrupulous, deceitful, deceiving, deluding, delusive, delusory, false, artful, beguiling, cagey, crafty, cunning, foxy, slick, sly, subtle, wily, defrauding, devious, furtive, slippery, sneaking, sneaky, trickish, tricky, insidious, perfidious, treacherous
   opposite: aboveboard, honest, straight
   near: conscientious, decent, ethical, honorable, just, scrupulous, upright, forthright, straightforward

8. having or showing a practical cleverness or judgment

   "a sharp customer who wasn't about to be taken in by that smooth-tongued salesman"

   similar: astute, canny, clear-eyed, clear-sighted, hard-boiled, hardheaded, heady, knowing, savvy, sharp-witted, shrewd, smart
   related: artful, cagey, crafty, cunning, devious, dodgy (chiefly British), foxy, guileful, pawky (chiefly British), slick, sly, subtle, tricky, wily, discerning, insightful, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sage, sapient, wise, experienced, veteran, discriminating, discriminative, agile, alert, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp-eyed, sharp-sighted, apt, ingenious, resourceful, calculating, scheming
   opposite: unknowing
   near: artless, guileless, ingenuous, innocent, naive, exploitable, gullible, unperceptive, unwise, dense, dull, obtuse, airheaded, birdbrained, brain-dead, brainless, dim-witted, dopey, dumb, empty-headed, feebleminded, gormless (chiefly British), half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain, lunkheaded, simple, slow, slow-witted, softheaded, stupid, thickheaded, thick-witted, unintelligent, weak-minded, foolish, idiotic, imbecile, moronic, silly, thoughtless, witless, ignorant, uninformed

9. having or showing quickness of mind

   "any sharp student would have noticed the error immediately"

   similar: alert, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, exceptional, fast, hyperintelligent, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp-witted, smart, supersmart, ultrasmart
   related: apt, ingenious, resourceful, acute, astute, discerning, heady, insightful, knowing, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sapient, savvy, wise, cerebral, erudite, genial, highbrow, knowledgeable, learned, literate, scholarly, well-read, educated, informed, schooled, skilled, trained, creative, inventive, judicious, prudent, sage, sane, sensible, sound, crafty, cunning, foxy, shrewd, wily, logical, rational, reasonable
   opposite: airheaded, birdbrained, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey, dorky (slang), dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, gormless (chiefly British), half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain, lunkheaded, mindless, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, senseless, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, stupid, thick, thickheaded, thick-witted, unbrilliant, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded, witless
   near: feebleminded, simpleminded, boobish, foolish, half-baked, idiotic, imbecile, moronic, silly, ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, nonintellectual, unacademic, uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, untaught, unthinking, absurd, asinine, balmy, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, featherheaded, fool, harebrained, insane, kooky, loony, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, tomfool, unwise, wacky, zany

10. marked by the use of wit that is intended to cause hurt feelings

    "an unnecessarily sharp retort to a perfectly civil question"

    similar: acerb, acerbic, acid, acidic, acidulous, acrid, barbed, biting, caustic, corrosive, cutting, mordant, pungent, sarcastic, sardonic, satiric, scalding, scathing, smart-aleck, smart-alecky, smart-mouthed, snarky, tart
    related: brisk, cross, sharp-tongued, sour, sourish, spiky, tartish, incisive, keen, poignant, trenchant, cynical, dry, ironic, wry, facetious, flippant, tongue-in-cheek, acrimonious, bitter, resentful, vitriolic, harsh, rough, severe, stringent, abrupt, blunt, brusque, concise, crisp, curt, gruff, pithy, snippety, snippy, succinct, terse, backhanded, insincere
    near: amusing, droll, merry, playful, sportive, waggish, gentle, mild, bland, good-humored, good-natured, diplomatic, polite, smooth, suave, urbane, affable, cordial, genial, gracious, hospitable, sociable

11. able to sense slight impressions or differences

    "you have sharp eyes"

    similar: acute, delicate, fine, keen, perceptive, quick, sensitive
    related: accurate, clear, discerning, good, piercing, precise, receptive, sensible, subtle, hair-trigger, hyperacute, hypersensitive, oversensitive, supersensitive
    near: bad, deadened, dimmed, dull, dulled, fading, dead, imperceptive, insensible, insensitive, numb, imprecise, inaccurate

12. uncomfortably cool

    "a spell of unusually sharp weather for this time of year"

    similar: bitter, bleak, chill, chilling, chilly, nipping, nippy, raw
    related: bracing, brisk, crisp, invigorating, rigorous, snappy, arctic, cold, coolish, freezing, frigid, frosty, glacial, ice-cold, icy, numbing, polar, shivery, wintry, subfreezing, subzero, frore, frosted, frozen, iced, refrigerated, unheated
    near: balmy, warm, lukewarm, tepid, heated, warmed