You can use acute to indicate that an undesirable situation or feeling is very severe or intense.
The war has aggravated an acute economic crisis.
The report has caused acute embarrassment to the government.
The labour shortage is becoming acute.
Synonyms: serious, important, dangerous, critical More Synonyms of acute
2. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
An acute illness is one that becomes severe very quickly but does not last very long. Compare chronic.
[medicine]
...a patient with acute rheumatoid arthritis.
...an acute case of dysentery.
Synonyms: intense, serious, deep, concentrated More Synonyms of acute
3. adjective
If a person's or animal's sight, hearing, or sense of smell is acute, it is sensitive and powerful.
In the dark my sense of hearing becomes so acute.
Synonyms: keen, good, penetrating, finely honed More Synonyms of acute
4. graded adjective
If you say that someone is acute or has an acute mind, you mean that they are quick to notice things and are able to understand them clearly.
Into her nineties, her thinking remained acute and her character forceful.
His relaxed exterior hides an extremely acute mind.
Synonyms: perceptive, sharp, keen, smart More Synonyms of acute
acutenessuncountable noun [oft theNOUNof noun]
Everything he writes demonstrates the acuteness of his intelligence.
Synonyms: seriousness, danger, importance, gravity More Synonyms of acute
Synonyms: sharpness, violence, intensity, severity More Synonyms of acute
Synonyms: perceptiveness, discrimination, perception, insight More Synonyms of acute
5. adjective
An acute angle is less than 90°. Compare obtuse angle.
6. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun, noun ADJECTIVE]
An acute accent is a symbol that is placed over vowels in some languages in order to indicatehow that vowel is pronounced or over one letter in a word to indicate where it isstressed. You refer to a letter with this accent as, for example, e acute. For example, there is an acute accent over the letter 'e' in the French word 'café'.
More Synonyms of acute
acute in British English
(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. mathematics
a.
(of an angle) less than 90°
b.
(of a triangle) having all its interior angles less than 90°
7. (of a disease)
a.
arising suddenly and manifesting intense severity
b.
of relatively short duration
Compare chronic (sense 2)
8. phonetics
a.
(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
b.
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 (asin French), etc
Compare (for senses 8a, 8b): grave, circumflex
9.
(of a hospital, hospital bed, or ward) intended to accommodate short-term patients with acute illnesses
noun
10.
an acute accent
Derived forms
acutely (aˈcutely)
adverb
acuteness (aˈcuteness)
noun
Word origin
C14: from Latin acūtus, past participle of acuere to sharpen, from acus needle
acute in American English
(əˈkjut)
adjective
1.
having a sharp point
2.
keen or quick of mind; shrewd
3.
sensitive to impressions
acute hearing
4.
severe and sharp, as pain, jealousy, etc.
5.
severe but of short duration; not chronic
said of some diseases
6.
very serious; critical; crucial
an acute shortage of workers
7.
shrill; high in pitch
8.
of less than 90 degrees
an acute angle
9.
intensive (sense 3)
SIMILAR WORDS: sharp
SYNONYMY NOTE: acute suggests severe intensification of an event, condition, etc. that is sharply approachinga climax [an acute shortage]; critical is applied to a turning point which will decisively determine an outcome [the critical battle of a war]; crucial comes into contrast with , critical where a trial determining a line of action rather than a decisive turning point isinvolved [a crucial debate on foreign policy]
Derived forms
acutely (aˈcutely)
adverb
acuteness (aˈcuteness)
noun
Word origin
L acutus, pp. of acuere, sharpen: see acumen
Examples of 'acute' in a sentence
acute
He had died from acute kidney failure.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Some acute care can be offered at home.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Sleep deprivation is one of the most acute problems in the armed forces.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
With the arrival of the internet, the problem of distinguishing factual from fake has become far more acute.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
He was no less inspiring as a conductor, with a great hand technique and an acute sense of rhythm.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Recruitment problems are particularly acute in maths, physics, computer science and design and technology.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
My 88-year-old father was admitted to an acute medical ward in November last year and has since died.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Finishing this splendid and intelligent story, as with all great fiction, brings an acute sense of loss.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The practice at which I am a patient devotes one eighth of its doctors' time to acute care.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
His goal from that acute angle was like a short corner in hockey!
The Sun (2012)
Yet the imbalances afflicting the eurozone are no less acute than those addressing the broader global economy.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
This is a masterclass from an acute political intelligence.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The trusts at risk are specialist or acute hospitals.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Only a few people possess such an acute mind for such profound investigations.
The Times Literary Supplement (2010)
The alternative is acute embarrassment and a sport on the brink of disaster.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
We know right from wrong and have an acute sense of justice.
The Sun (2009)
My acute exercise phase had many positive points.
Goshgarian, Gary Exploring language (6th edn) (1995)
This problem has become particularly acute in our own country.
Aganbegyan, Abel Inside Perestroika: The Future of the Soviet Economy (1990)
The problems are particularly acute where holidays have been booked independently.
The Sun (2009)
Pain has myriad causes but can be broadly divided into acute and chronic.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The acute economic crisis may have passed but the chronic challenges remain.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
We were told she had acute liver failure.
The Sun (2015)
These alternative sites for acute care have been successful because they are efficient and cost effective.
McKenzie, James F. & Pinger, Robert R. An Introduction to Community Health (1995)
Today the fear of being left behind is no less acute.
The Sun (2011)
The single most coherent theme that emerges is the desire to keep patients out of acute hospitals.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
His acute political sense was a significant asset when dealing with government departments and with the public.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
His absence led to a lack of cover on an acute mental health ward and put colleagues at risk.
The Sun (2009)
Their hearing is so acute that they can hear the pulsing sound of a quartz crystal in a digital clock.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
We recognise that to excel in these fields, you have to possess acute intelligence.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
He has such an acute mind, and his intelligence is effortless.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
They are more agile, faster over short distances and their hearing is more acute.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Yes, you may escape that moment of acute social embarrassment.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
And there is no finer exponent of acute angles than the man who has won a record 60 consecutive matches on clay.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
A trip round an acute ward would give some perspective to the self-obsessed celebrities whose only thought is to look younger.
The Sun (2009)
In other languages
acute
British English: acute ADJECTIVE
You can use acute to indicate that an undesirable situation or feeling is very severe or intense.
The war has aggravated an acute economic crisis.
American English: acute
Brazilian Portuguese: agudo
Chinese: 严峻的
European Spanish: agudo
French: aigu
German: akut
Italian: acuto
Japanese: 激しい
Korean: 심각한
European Portuguese: agudo
Latin American Spanish: agudo
All related terms of 'acute'
acute angle
an angle that is less than 90°
acute arch
a narrow acutely pointed arch having two centres of equal radii
acute dose
a total dose of radiation administered over such a short period that biological recovery is impossible
acute accent
the diacritical mark (´), used in the writing system of some languages to indicate that the vowel over which it is placed has a special quality (as in French é t é ) or that it receives the strongest stress in the word (as in Spanish hablé )
acute-angled
(of a triangle ) having three acute angles
acute hospital
A hospital is a place where people who are ill are looked after by nurses and doctors .
acute shortage
If there is a shortage of something, there is not enough of it.
acute triangle
a triangle that has three acute angles
acute observation
Observation is the action or process of carefully watching someone or something.
acute conjunctivitis
an acute contagious inflammation of the conjunctiva of the eye, characterized by redness, discharge , etc: usually caused by bacterial infection
acute respiratory distress syndrome
a life-threatening respiratory condition in which trauma to the lungs leads to inflammation, rapid accumulation of fluid in the alveoli , a decrease in the amount of oxygen in the blood, and respiratory distress
lancet arch
a narrow acutely pointed arch having two centres of equal radii
pointed arch
a narrow acutely pointed arch having two centres of equal radii