acute

[uh-kyoot]

adjective

1. sharp or severe in effect; intense.

   acute sorrow;

   an acute pain.

   Antonyms: dull, dull

2. extremely great or serious; crucial; critical.

   an acute shortage of oil.

3. (of disease) brief and severe (chronic ).

   Synonyms: violent, extreme, sudden

4. sharp or penetrating in intellect, insight, or perception.

   an acute observer.

   Synonyms: sage, wise, knowing, brilliant, ingenious, bright, smart, clever, sharp-witted, perspicacious, intelligent, perceptive, discerning, astute, keen, sapient, sagacious
   Antonyms: dull, dull

5. extremely sensitive even to slight details or impressions.

   acute eyesight.

   Synonyms: keen

6. sharp at the end; ending in a point.

7. Geometry.

   1. (of an angle) less than 90°.

   2. (of a triangle) containing only acute angles.

8. Phonetics, Orthography.,  consisting of, indicated by, or bearing the diacritic ´, placed over vowel symbols in some languages to show that the vowels or the syllables they are in are pronounced in a certain way, as in French that the quality of an e so marked is close; in Hungarian that the vowel is long; in Spanish that the marked syllable bears the word accent; in Ibo that it is pronounced with high tones; or in classical Greek, where the mark originated, that the syllable bears the word accent and is pronounced, according to the ancient grammarians, with raised pitch (grave ): an acute e.

   the acute accent;

   an acute e.

noun

1. Phonetics, Orthography.,  the acute accent.

acute

/ əˈkjuːt /

adjective

1. penetrating in perception or insight

2. sensitive to details; keen

3. of extreme importance; crucial

4. sharp or severe; intense

   acute pain

   an acute drought

5. having a sharp end or point

6. maths

   1. (of an angle) less than 90°

   2. (of a triangle) having all its interior angles less than 90°

7. 1. arising suddenly and manifesting intense severity

   2. of relatively short duration Compare chronic

8. phonetics

   1. (of a vowel or syllable in some languages with a pitch accent, such as ancient Greek) spoken or sung on a higher musical pitch relative to neighbouring syllables or vowels

   2. Compare (for senses 8a, 8b): grave.  circumflex. of or relating to an accent (´) placed over vowels, denoting that the vowel is pronounced with higher musical pitch (as in ancient Greek), with a certain special quality (as in French), etc

9. (of a hospital, hospital bed, or ward) intended to accommodate short-term patients with acute illnesses

noun

1. an acute accent

acute

1. Reacting readily to stimuli or impressions, as hearing or eyesight; sensitive.

2. Relating to an illness that has a rapid onset and follows a short but severe course.

3. Compare chronic

4. Having an acute angle.

Other Word Forms

• acuteness noun
• acutely adverb
• hyperacute adjective
• nonacute adjective
• overacute adjective
• superacute adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of acute¹

First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin acūtus “sharpened,” past participle of acuere ( acū-, verb stem, akin to acus “needle,” ācer “sharp” + -tus past participle suffix)

Word History and Origins

Origin of acute¹

C14: from Latin acūtus, past participle of acuere to sharpen, from acus needle

Synonym Study

Acute, penetrating, shrewd imply a keenness of understanding, perception, or insight. Acute suggests particularly a clearness of perception and a realization of related meanings: an acute intellect. Penetrating adds the idea of depth of perception and a realization of implications: a wise and penetrating judgment. Shrewd adds the idea of knowing how to apply practically (or to one's own advantage) what one perceives and understands: wary and shrewd.

Example Sentences

Mhanna, on the other hand, says he plans to stay in Gaza because of the acute need for medical professionals.

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It seems that there is still an acute need to watch one’s step.

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Rather, antisemitism was always widespread, becoming acute at times of national and international crisis.

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OpenAI’s new parental controls, introduced last month, include notifications for parents if their teen appears to be in “acute distress.”

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Although the acute impact from that event was related to laptops using Microsoft software that were rendered unusable, the cloud also played a role.

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Related Words

• excruciating 
• fierce 
• keen 
• overwhelming 
• poignant 
• severe 
• sharp 
• sudden