Shrewdness
collective noun /ˈʃruːdnəs/ — What you call a group of apes — and it's not a compliment, it's a description.
Definition
The collective noun for a group of apes — reflecting the widely observed intelligence, problem-solving ability, and social complexity of great apes.
Beyond the definition
Apes make and use tools. They recognise themselves in mirrors. They grieve, negotiate, deceive, and cooperate. Calling their group a shrewdness isn't poetic licence — it's a description. The word respects the animal in a way that 'troop' or 'herd' simply doesn't.
Origin & history
From Middle English shrewd — cunning, sharp-witted (from 'shrew' — a small, fierce animal). Originally negative (cunning, wicked), shrewdness evolved to mean intelligent acuteness. The collective noun appeared in medieval lists, reflecting early observations of ape behaviour.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
A shrewdness of chimps had figured out how to open the feeding box within an hour.
The researchers watched the shrewdness negotiate territory for three hours without a single act of violence.
A shrewdness of gorillas moved through the forest with a quiet authority that stopped the hikers cold.
How to use it
Follow this entry’s examples for grammatical form and sentence placement.
Choose “Shrewdness” when the meaning fits your context: The collective noun for a group of apes — reflecting the widely observed intelligence, problem-solving ability, and social complexity of great apes.
Synonyms
group, troop, band, community
Related words
Word in the Wild
Illustrative story: an imagined scene, not a documented event or interview.
The primatologist had spent twenty years studying ape cognition. She described the moment she stopped being surprised by what they understood and started being surprised by what she'd missed.
"You watch an ape long enough," she said, "and you understand that you are also being observed. They're studying you with at least as much attention as you're studying them. The hierarchy of observer and observed becomes genuinely unclear."
A shrewdness of apes. The word arrived from somewhere that had been paying attention. What it names, it turns out, is mutual.
Questions about this word
What does "Shrewdness" mean?
Shrewdness is collective noun meaning: What you call a group of apes — and it's not a compliment, it's a description.. The collective noun for a group of apes — reflecting the widely observed intelligence, problem-solving ability, and social complexity of great apes.
Where does the word "Shrewdness" come from?
From Middle English shrewd — cunning, sharp-witted (from 'shrew' — a small, fierce animal). Originally negative (cunning, wicked), shrewdness evolved to mean intelligent acuteness. The collective noun appeared in medieval lists, reflecting early observations of ape behaviour.