Link Centre Dictionary

acute

UK/əˈkjuːt/ US/əˈkjut/ fairly common informal
adjective (6) noun (1)

adjective

1.

having or experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe course

  • “acute appendicitis”
  • “the acute phase of the illness”
  • “acute patients”
Antonyms
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2.

extremely sharp or intense

  • “acute pain”
  • “felt acute annoyance”
  • “intense itching and burning”
Synonyms
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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”
Synonyms
Similar
4.

of an angle; less than 90 degrees

Antonyms
5.
6.

of critical importance and consequence

  • “an acute (or critical) lack of research funds”
Similar

noun

1.

Origin

From Late Middle English acute (“of a disease or fever: starting suddenly and lasting for a short time; of a humour: irritating, sharp”), from Latin acūta, from acūtus (“sharp, sharpened”), perfect passive participle of acuō (“to make pointed, sharpen, whet”), from acus (“needle, pin”). The word is cognate to ague (“acute, intermittent fever”). As regards the noun, which is derived from the verb, compare Middle English acūte (“severe but short-lived fever; of blood: corrosiveness, sharpness; musical note of high pitch”).

Phrases

  • accent acute
  • acute abdo
  • acute abdomen
  • acute accent
  • acute angle
  • acute aortic syndrome
  • acute chest syndrome
  • acute-angled triangle

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.