Meaning & use
razor-sharp
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Having an edge so keen that it cuts very easily.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after 'be': a razor-sharp knife, the blade is razor-sharp.
Patterns
- razor-sharp blade
- be razor-sharp
The chef used a razor-sharp knife to slice the fish into thin pieces.
Skates with razor-sharp blades can cut ice cleanly.
The broken glass had razor-sharp edges.
adjectivecomparablefigurativeapproving
Quick, precise and clever in thinking or speaking.
Grammar: Figurative: a razor-sharp mind, razor-sharp wit.
Patterns
- razor-sharp mind
- razor-sharp wit
Her razor-sharp mind spotted the error in seconds.
The lawyer's razor-sharp questions left the witness stumbling.
At ninety, he still had a razor-sharp memory.
Common combinations
- razor-sharp blade
- The razor-sharp blade went through the rope in one stroke.
- razor-sharp mind
- A razor-sharp mind helps in chess.
- razor-sharp wit
- The host is famous for his razor-sharp wit.
- razor-sharp focus
- The team played with razor-sharp focus in the final.
Synonyms and how they differ
- keen
- Keen is milder and also used for eagerness, while razor-sharp is stronger and more vivid.
- incisive
- Incisive is a formal word used only for thought or speech, never for blades.
- sharp
- Sharp is the plain everyday word, with razor-sharp adding emphasis.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: razor-sharp or razed?
razor-sharp vs razed
Razed means destroyed to the ground; it sounds like 'raised' but is unrelated to razor-sharp.
Practice
The interviewer was known for her ______ questions that exposed every weakness in an argument.
Choose one answer.
Razor-sharp can describe quick, precise thinking. The other compounds are not real expressions.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “razor-sharp”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.