acuity
Americannoun
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acuities
plural
noun
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keenness or acuteness, esp in vision or thought
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the capacity of the eye to see fine detail, measured by determining the finest detail that can just be detected
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of acuity
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English acuite, from Old French, from Medieval Latin, Late Latin acuitās, equivalent to Latin acu(ere) to sharpen or acū ( tus ) sharpened ( see acute) + -itās -ity
Explanation
Acuity has to do with sharpness and smartness. Do you always get top grades in math? Then you have an acuity for numbers. People often talk about "mental acuity" which is a fancy way of saying intelligence, brains, or smartness. There are specific kinds of acuity, too. As people become very old, they tend to lose their acuity in many areas, including their vision, which is one reason very old people don't drive as well. A 40-year-old quarterback isn't going to have the same acuity for seeing receivers and throwing the ball as a 25-year-old quarterback.
Vocabulary lists containing acuity
Vocabulary from "Stop Expecting Games to Build Empathy" by Julie Muncy
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Unbroken
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"Coming to Our Senses," Vocabulary from the science essay
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Medical schools, too, have long incorporated the study of performance to develop empathy and observational acuity in future doctors.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
These types of "lower acuity" calls are categorised as either "yellow" or "green" where further assessment can be made.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
But in the next line, his contemporary Menander asserts that though it may rob us of our vitality, time nevertheless “adds to our acuity of mind.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
The pairing of Chris’ vulnerability with Cindy’s crustiness evoke aspects of the intergenerational relationship in Samuel D. Hunter’s “Little Bear Ridge Road,” though “Eat Me” lacks Hunter’s psychological acuity and sustained dramatic focus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
And since politics makes strange bedfellows, Alfred Lanning sat at the other side of the desk with his ferocious white eyebrows bent far forward over eyes in which chronic impatience had sharpened to acuity.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
Her first book was hot to the touch for its divine, earthly and intellectual acuities.
From New York Times ● Jan. 1, 2018
One has to admire the honesty of a film that includes among its other acuities an intelligent capsule review of itself.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
