acuminate

American  

[uh-kyoo-muh-nit, -neyt, uh-kyoo-muh-neyt] / əˈkyu mə nɪt, -ˌneɪt, əˈkyu məˌneɪt /

adjective

1. Botany, Zoology. pointed; tapering to a point.

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verb (used with object)

acuminated, acuminating

1. to make sharp or keen.

acuminate British  

adjective

1. narrowing to a sharp point, as some types of leaf

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verb

1. (tr) to make pointed or sharp

Other Word Forms

• acumination noun
• subacuminate adjective
• subacumination noun

Etymology

Origin of acuminate

1595–1605; < Latin acūminātus (past participle of acūmināre ), equivalent to acūmin- (stem of acūmen ) acumen + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

Another species in crisis is the acuminate crayfish, which is unique to Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, experts said, and found largely in the Anacostia watershed.

From Washington Post • Oct. 22, 2021

A series of fortunate events brought me to a floor somewhere in the mid-twenties of London’s most acuminate skyscraper, the 72-storey, 306-metre Shard.

From The Guardian • Jun. 9, 2014

Leaves.—Narrowly lanceolate; the outer ones two to four inches long; acuminate.

From The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits by Parsons, Mary Elizabeth

Comparisons.—Compared with T. b. aureus, T. b. howelli differs as follows: paler; nasals shorter and wider; cranium more flattened; posterior extensions of premaxillae longer, thinner, and more acuminate.

From Geographic Variation in the Pocket Gopher, Thomys bottae, in Colorado by Youngman, Phillip M.

Leaves.—Opposite; sessile; crowded; lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate; gradually acuminate; densely pubescent; several-nerved; an inch or more long.

From The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits by Parsons, Mary Elizabeth