sharp or severe in effect; intense: acute sorrow; an acute pain.
extremely great or serious; crucial; critical: an acute shortage of oil.
(of disease) brief and severe (opposed to chronic).
sharp or penetrating in intellect, insight, or perception: an acute observer.
extremely sensitive even to slight details or impressions: acute eyesight.
sharp at the end; ending in a point.
Geometry.
(of an angle) less than 90°.
(of a triangle) containing only acute angles.
consisting of, indicated by, or bearing the mark ´, 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 (opposed to grave): the acute accent; an acute e.
noun
the acute accent.
Origin of acute
1560–70; < Latinacūtus sharpened, past participle of acuere (acū-, v. stem, akin to acus needle, ācer sharp + -tus past participle suffix)
Related formsa·cute·ly, adverba·cute·ness, nounhy·per·a·cute, adjectivehy·per·a·cute·ly, adverbhy·per·a·cute·ness, nounnon·a·cute, adjectivenon·a·cute·ly, adverbnon·a·cute·ness, nouno·ver·a·cute, adjectiveo·ver·a·cute·ly, adverbo·ver·a·cute·ness, nounsu·per·a·cute, adjectivesu·per·a·cute·ly, adverbsu·per·a·cute·ness, nounCan be confusedacutechronic
4. 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.
(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
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), etcCompare (for senses 8a, 8b): grave, circumflex
(of a hospital, hospital bed, or ward) intended to accommodate short-term patients with acute illnesses
noun
an acute accent
Derived Formsacutely, adverbacuteness, noun
Word Origin for acute
C14: from Latin acūtus, past participle of acuere to sharpen, from acus needle
late 14c., originally of fevers and diseases, "coming and going quickly" (opposed to a chronic), from Latin acutus "sharp, pointed," figuratively "shrill, penetrating; intelligent, cunning," past participle of acuere "sharpen" (see acuity). Meaning "sharp, irritating" is from early 15c. Meaning "intense" is from 1727. Related: Acutely; acuteness.
