Dictionary Definition
acute adj
1 having or experiencing a rapid onset and short
but severe course; "acute appendicitis"; "the acute phase of the
illness"; "acute patients" [ant: chronic]
2 extremely sharp or intense; "acute pain"; "felt
acute annoyance"; "intense itching and burning" [syn: intense]
3 having or demonstrating ability to recognize or
draw fine distinctions; "an acute observer of politics and
politicians"; "incisive comments"; "icy knifelike reasoning"; "as
sharp and incisive as the stroke of a fang"; "penetrating insight";
"frequent penetrative observations" [syn: discriminating, incisive, keen, knifelike, penetrating, penetrative, piercing, sharp]
4 of an angle; less than 90 degrees [ant:
obtuse]
6 of critical importance and consequence; "an
acute (or critical) lack of research funds" n : a mark (') placed
above a vowel to indicate pronunciation [syn: acute
accent, ague]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
From Latin acuere "to sharpen".Pronunciation
-
- Rhymes: -uːt
Adjective
- Urgent.
- His need for medical attention was acute.
- Sensitive.
- She had an acute sense of honor.
- Eagles have very acute vision.
- She had an acute sense of honor.
- Short,
quick.
- It was an acute event.
- Of an angle, less than 90 degrees.
- Of a triangle, acute-angled.
- botany of leaves With the sides meeting directly to form a pointed acute angle at the apex, base, or both.
- Of an abnormal condition of recent or sudden
onset, in contrast to
delayed onset; this sense does not imply severity (unlike the
common usage).
- He dropped dead of an acute illness.
- Of a short-lived condition, in contrast to a chronic condition;
this sense also does not imply severity.
- The acute symptoms resolved promptly.
- In the context of "after a letter": Having an acute
accent.
- The last letter of "café" is 'e' acute.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
intense
of a triangle See acute-angled
medicine: of a condition
accent See acute
accent
Noun
- An acute
accent.
- The word "cafe" often has an acute over the "e".
Verb
- To give an acute sound to.
- He acutes his rising inflection too much.
Italian
Adjective
acute- Feminine plural form of acuto
Extensive Definition
Acute may refer to:
acute in Catalan: Agut (desambiguació)
acute in French: Aigu
acute in Finnish: Akuutti
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Machiavellian, Machiavellic, absorbing, acanthoid, acanthous, accurate, acicular, acrid, active, acuate, aculeate, aculeiform, acuminate, afflictive, aggravated, aggressive, agonizing, alert, animated, apperceptive, appercipient, arch, argute, artful, astute, atrocious, aware, barbed, biting, brisk, cagey, canny, clamorous, clever, climacteric, cogent, compelling, cornuted, crafty, cramping, creaky, critical, crucial, cruel, crying, cunning, cusped, cuspidate, cute, cutting, dangerous, deceitful, deep, deep-felt, deep-laid,
deepgoing, designing, desperate, diplomatic, dire, discerning, discriminating, distressing, double-edged,
drastic, dynamic, ear-piercing, edged, energetic, enterprising, enthusiastic, excessive, excruciating, exigent, exorbitant, exquisite, extravagant, extreme, farseeing, farsighted, featheredged, feline, fierce, fine, forceful, forcible, foreseeing, foresighted, forethoughted, forethoughtful, foxy, full of pep, furious, gnawing, go-go, grave, great, griping, guileful, hard, harrowing, harsh, hazardous, heartfelt, hearty, high, high-pressure, high-priority,
hispid, homefelt, horned, horny, howling, hurtful, hurting, immoderate, imperative, imperious, impetuous, incisive, indelible, ingenious, insidious, insightful, insistent, instant, intelligent, intemperate, intense, intensified, inventive, keen, keen-edged, keening, kinetic, knifelike, knowing, lively, living, longheaded, longsighted, lusty, menacing, meticulous, mettlesome, mucronate, narrow, needle-pointed,
needle-sharp, observant, outrageous, painful, paroxysmal, pawky, peaked, peaky, penetrating, peppy, perceptive, percipient, perilous, perspicacious, perspicuous, pervading, piercing, piping, pivotal, poignant, pointed, politic, precarious, precise, pressing, prickly, probing, profound, pronged, provident, pungent, quick-witted, racking, razor-edged, ready, reedy, resourceful, rigorous, robust, rough, sagacious, scheming, screaky, screeching, screechy, sensitive, serious, serpentine, set, severe, shall, sharp, sharp-pointed,
sharp-sighted, sharp-witted, shifty, shooting, shrewd, shrieking, shrieky, shrill, slick, slippery, sly, smacking, smooth, snaky, snappy, sneaky, sophistical, spanking, spasmatic, spasmic, spasmodic, spiculate, spiked, spiky, spined, spinous, spiny, spirited, splitting, squeaking, squeaky, stabbing, stealthy, stinging, strategic, strenuous, strong, subtile, subtle, sudden, supple, tactical, take-charge,
take-over, tapered,
tapering, thin, threatening, tined, tinny, toothed, tormenting, torturous, tough, treble, trenchant, trickish, tricksy, tricky, two-edged, ululant, unbated, unconscionable, understanding, urgent, vehement, venomous, vibrant, vigorous, violent, virulent, vivacious, vivid, vulpine, wailing, wary, whining, whistling, wily, wise, zestful, zesty, zippy