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Word of the Day Archive
Sunday May 11, 2008

acumen \uh-KYOO-muhn; AK-yuh-muhn\, noun:
Quickness of perception or discernment; shrewdness shown by keen insight.

With Leo's rare combination of editorial acumen and business know-how, he might have become a publishing giant had he not permitted his drinking and gambling to hold him back.
-- Ellis Amburn, Subterranean Kerouac: The Hidden Life of Jack Kerouac

The family store gave him a sharp business acumen -- acquired, he would say, by manning the cash register -- that few of his rivals possessed.
-- David Schiff, "Who Was That Masked Composer?", The Atlantic, January 2000

Acumen comes from Latin acumen, "the sharp point of something; sharpness of understanding; cunning," from acuere, "to sharpen."

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for acumen

 

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