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Definitions for Acute

[1] sharp or severe in effect; intense: acute sorrow; an acute pain.
[2] extremely great or serious; crucial; critical: an acute shortage of oil.
[3] (of disease) brief and severe (opposed to chronic).
[4] sharp or penetrating in intellect, insight, or perception: an acute observer.
[5] extremely sensitive even to slight details or impressions: acute eyesight.
[6] sharp at the end; ending in a point.
[7] Geometry . (of an angle) less than 90°. (of a triangle) containing only acute angles.
[8] 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.
[9] the acute accent.
[10] penetrating in perception or insight
[11] sensitive to details; keen
[12] of extreme importance; crucial
[13] sharp or severe; intense acute pain ; an acute drought
[14] having a sharp end or point
[15] maths (of an angle) less than 90° (of a triangle) having all its interior angles less than 90°
[16] (of a disease) arising suddenly and manifesting intense severity of relatively short duration Compare chronic (def. 2)
[17] phonetics (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), etc Compare (for senses 8a, 8b): grave , circumflex
[18] (of a hospital, hospital bed, or ward) intended to accommodate short-term patients with acute illnesses
[19] an acute accent

Words related to Acute

keen, subtle, intense, sharp, dangerous, urgent, severe, sudden, critical, dire, serious, excruciating, poignant, fierce, overwhelming, sensitive, smart, desperate, essential, grave

Words nearby Acute

acupuncture, acupuncturist, acus, acusector, acutance, acute, acute abdomen, acute accent, acute adrenocortical insufficiency, acute african sleeping sickness, acute alcoholism

Origin of Acute

1560–70; < Latin acūtus sharpened, past participle of acuere (acū-, v. stem, akin to acus needle, ācer sharp + -tus past participle suffix)

Words that may be confused with Acute

acute, chronic

Other words from Acute

a·cute·ly , adverb
a·cute·ness , noun
hy·per·a·cute , adjective
hy·per·a·cute·ly , adverb
hy·per·a·cute·ness , noun
non·a·cute , adjective
non·a·cute·ly , adverb
non·a·cute·ness , noun
o·ver·a·cute , adjective
o·ver·a·cute·ly , adverb
o·ver·a·cute·ness , noun
su·per·a·cute , adjective
su·per·a·cute·ly , adverb
su·per·a·cute·ness , noun

Word origin for Acute

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

Synonyms for Acute

intense, keen, sharp, subtle, sensitive, smart, astute, canny, clever, discerning, discriminating, incisive, ingenious, insightful, intuitive, judicious, observant, penetrating, perspicacious, piercing, quick-witted