acute

adjective

ə-ˈkyüt

acuter; acutest

a(1)

: characterized by sharpness or severity of sudden onset

acute pain

(2)

: having a sudden onset, sharp rise, and short course

acute illness

(3)

: being, providing, or requiring short-term medical care (as for serious illness or traumatic injury)

acute hospitals

an acute patient

: lasting a short time

acute experiments

: ending in a sharp point: such as

: being or forming an angle measuring less than 90 degrees

an acute angle

: composed of acute angles

an acute triangle

of an accent mark : having the form ´

: marked with an acute accent

: of the variety indicated by an acute accent

: marked by keen discernment or intellectual perception especially of subtle distinctions

an acute thinker

: responsive to slight impressions or stimuli

acute hearing

: felt, perceived, or experienced intensely

acute distress

: demanding urgent attention

an acute emergency

acutely adverb

acuteness noun

Did you know?

Ways to Be Acute

For such a short and simple-looking word, acute has a rather bewildering range of meanings. It first entered the English language with a medical sense, referring to the sharpness or severity of a symptom. It retains this meaning today, but can also refer to the severity of more general matters, such as "acute embarrassment" or "an acute shortage."

Acute is also frequently used to describe less troublesome matters, such as keenness of perception ("an acute observer" or "an acute sense of smell"), a type of angle (one measuring less than 90 degrees), or the demand for urgent attention ("acute danger").

Example Sentences

an acute sense of humor It's a politically acute film that does not oversimplify the issues.

Recent Examples on the Web Two children have died from acute liver failure after being administered Zolgensma, a pricey gene therapy sold by Novartis to treat a rare disease, STAT reports.

Ed Silverman, STAT, 17 Aug. 2022 Complications from the disease can include respiratory failure, shock and acute kidney failure.

CBS News, 4 Aug. 2022 Daily Harvest recalled about 28,000 bags of the crumbles last month after customers complained of symptoms consistent with acute liver failure, including wrenching abdominal pain, nausea, fevers, jaundice and full-body itching.

Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2022 Three of those cases were investigated as suicides, and the cause of the death for the fourth was determined to be acute heart failure, according to reports from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office.

Elliot Hughes, Journal Sentinel, 27 June 2022 Common painkillers such as aspirin and ibuprofen may have serious side effects, including gastrointestinal bleeding, and acetaminophen has been associated with acute liver failure.

Mariana Lenharo, Scientific American, 20 June 2022 One of the family members was hospitalized with acute liver failure resulting from a hepatitis A infection, according to the lawsuit, which states he was discharged one day later.

City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 June 2022 He was taken to MetroHealth with acute kidney failure and was in a coma for about a week.

Adam Ferrise, cleveland, 6 June 2022 Three of the nine kids in the Alabama cohort ended up with acute liver failure, a life-threatening condition.

Katia Hetter, CNN, 9 May 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, borrowed from Latin acūtus "sharpened, pointed, having a violent onset, discerning, less than 90 degrees (of an angle)," from past participle of acuere "to sharpen, rouse, stimulate," probably derived from an otherwise unattested adjective stem acū- "sharp"; akin to acū-, acus "needle," a perhaps independently derived noun; further akin to Old Church Slavic osŭtŭ "thistle," Lithuanian ãšutas "hair of a horse's tail or mane"; all going back to the Indo-European base *h₂eḱ- "sharp" — more at edge entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Kids Definition

acute

adjective

ə-ˈkyüt

acuter; acutest

: measuring less than 90 degrees

acute angles

: marked by or showing an ability to understand things that are not obvious

an acute observation

: severe, sharp

acute pain

: developing quickly and lasting only a short time

acute illness

: critical sense 4, urgent

an acute shortage of food

: very strong and sensitive

an acute sense of smell

Medical Definition

acute

adjective

ə-ˈkyüt

: sensing or perceiving accurately, clearly, effectively, or sensitively

acute vision

: characterized by sharpness or severity of sudden onset

acute pain brought on by injury

an acute infection

b(1)

: having a sudden onset, sharp rise, and short course

acute illness

an acute inflammation

compare chronic entry 1 sense 2a

(2)

: acute care

an acute hospital

: lasting a short time

acute experiments

acute

adjective

as in sensitive

able to sense slight impressions or differences dogs, with their acute sense of smell, are used for finding toxic substances undetectable by humans

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

sensitive
keen
quick
sharp
perceptive
delicate
accurate
subtle
piercing
precise
fine
good
hyperacute
discerning
clear
sensible
hypersensitive
receptive
supersensitive
oversensitive
hair-trigger

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

dull
bad
dulled
fading
insensitive
insensible
numb
dead
deadened
imperceptive
dimmed
inaccurate
imprecise

as in urgent

needing immediate attention famine caused by an acute shortage of grain

Synonyms & Similar Words

urgent
intense
emergent
dire
exigent
critical
pressing
serious
compelling
immediate
imperative
instant
crying
desperate
extreme
severe
imperious
importunate
burning
clamant
necessitous
insistent
overriding
dangerous
hazardous
crucial
demanding
precarious
life-or-death
perilous
explosive
life-and-death
unstable
grave
vital

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

noncritical
minor
incidental
nonurgent
trivial
negligible
unimportant
stable
low-pressure
safe
nonthreatening

as in intense

extreme in degree, power, or effect experiencing acute distress over the misunderstanding with her best friend

Synonyms & Similar Words

intense
intensive
fierce
ferocious
deep
terrible
profound
violent
heavy
furious
explosive
vicious
excruciating
heightened
exquisite
fearful
dreadful
vehement
ghastly
blistering
frightful
intensified
severe
fearsome
aggravated
almighty
keen
hellacious
concentrated
harsh
hard
accentuated
deepened
heavy-duty
enhanced
stressed
magnified
emphasized
exhaustive
rigorous
thorough

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

moderate
weak
light
feeble
soft
superficial
shallow
qualified
decreased
diminished
eased
reduced
toned (down)
subdued
moderated
alleviated
lessened
abated
lightened

Synonym Chooser

The words keen and sharp are common synonyms of acute. While all three words mean "having or showing alert competence and clear understanding," acute implies a power to penetrate and may suggest subtlety and sharpness of discrimination.

an acute sense of style

The synonyms keen and acute are sometimes interchangeable, but keen suggests quickness, enthusiasm, and a penetrating mind.

a keen observer of the political scene

While in some cases nearly identical to acute, sharp implies quick perception, clever resourcefulness, or sometimes questionable trickiness.

sharp enough to spot a confidence game

单词	acute
释义	acute adjective ə-ˈkyüt acuter; acutest 1 a(1) : characterized by sharpness or severity of sudden onset acute pain (2) : having a sudden onset, sharp rise, and short course acute illness (3) : being, providing, or requiring short-term medical care (as for serious illness or traumatic injury) acute hospitals an acute patient b : lasting a short time acute experiments 2 : ending in a sharp point: such as a : being or forming an angle measuring less than 90 degrees an acute angle b : composed of acute angles an acute triangle 3 a of an accent mark : having the form ´ b : marked with an acute accent c : of the variety indicated by an acute accent 4 a : marked by keen discernment or intellectual perception especially of subtle distinctions an acute thinker b : responsive to slight impressions or stimuli acute hearing 5 : felt, perceived, or experienced intensely acute distress 6 : demanding urgent attention an acute emergency acutely adverb acuteness noun Did you know? Ways to Be Acute For such a short and simple-looking word, acute has a rather bewildering range of meanings. It first entered the English language with a medical sense, referring to the sharpness or severity of a symptom. It retains this meaning today, but can also refer to the severity of more general matters, such as "acute embarrassment" or "an acute shortage." Acute is also frequently used to describe less troublesome matters, such as keenness of perception ("an acute observer" or "an acute sense of smell"), a type of angle (one measuring less than 90 degrees), or the demand for urgent attention ("acute danger"). Synonyms delicate fine keen perceptive quick sensitive sharp See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences an acute sense of humor It's a politically acute film that does not oversimplify the issues. Recent Examples on the Web Two children have died from acute liver failure after being administered Zolgensma, a pricey gene therapy sold by Novartis to treat a rare disease, STAT reports. Ed Silverman, STAT, 17 Aug. 2022 Complications from the disease can include respiratory failure, shock and acute kidney failure. CBS News, 4 Aug. 2022 Daily Harvest recalled about 28,000 bags of the crumbles last month after customers complained of symptoms consistent with acute liver failure, including wrenching abdominal pain, nausea, fevers, jaundice and full-body itching. Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2022 Three of those cases were investigated as suicides, and the cause of the death for the fourth was determined to be acute heart failure, according to reports from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office. Elliot Hughes, Journal Sentinel, 27 June 2022 Common painkillers such as aspirin and ibuprofen may have serious side effects, including gastrointestinal bleeding, and acetaminophen has been associated with acute liver failure. Mariana Lenharo, Scientific American, 20 June 2022 One of the family members was hospitalized with acute liver failure resulting from a hepatitis A infection, according to the lawsuit, which states he was discharged one day later. City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 June 2022 He was taken to MetroHealth with acute kidney failure and was in a coma for about a week. Adam Ferrise, cleveland, 6 June 2022 Three of the nine kids in the Alabama cohort ended up with acute liver failure, a life-threatening condition. Katia Hetter, CNN, 9 May 2022 See More Word History Etymology Middle English, borrowed from Latin acūtus "sharpened, pointed, having a violent onset, discerning, less than 90 degrees (of an angle)," from past participle of acuere "to sharpen, rouse, stimulate," probably derived from an otherwise unattested adjective stem acū- "sharp"; akin to acū-, acus "needle," a perhaps independently derived noun; further akin to Old Church Slavic osŭtŭ "thistle," Lithuanian ãšutas "hair of a horse's tail or mane"; all going back to the Indo-European base h₂eḱ- "sharp" — more at edge entry 1 First Known Use 14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1) Phrases Containing acute* acute flaccid myelitis acute mountain sickness post-acute COVID-19 syndrome acute respiratory distress syndrome severe acute respiratory syndrome post-acute COVID syndrome hyper-acute acute otitis media acute flaccid myelitis acute mountain sickness post-acute COVID-19 syndrome acute respiratory distress syndrome severe acute respiratory syndrome post-acute COVID syndrome hyper-acute acute otitis media See More Kids Definition acute adjective ə-ˈkyüt acuter; acutest 1 : measuring less than 90 degrees acute angles 2 : marked by or showing an ability to understand things that are not obvious an acute observation 3 : severe, sharp acute pain 4 : developing quickly and lasting only a short time acute illness 5 : critical sense 4, urgent an acute shortage of food 6 : very strong and sensitive an acute sense of smell Medical Definition acute adjective ə-ˈkyüt 1 : sensing or perceiving accurately, clearly, effectively, or sensitively acute vision 2 a : characterized by sharpness or severity of sudden onset acute pain brought on by injury an acute infection b(1) : having a sudden onset, sharp rise, and short course acute illness an acute inflammation compare chronic entry 1 sense 2a (2) : acute care an acute hospital c : lasting a short time acute experiments acute adjective 1 as in sensitive able to sense slight impressions or differences dogs, with their acute sense of smell, are used for finding toxic substances undetectable by humans Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance sensitive keen quick sharp perceptive delicate accurate subtle piercing precise fine good hyperacute discerning clear sensible hypersensitive receptive supersensitive oversensitive hair-trigger Antonyms & Near Antonyms dull bad dulled fading insensitive insensible numb dead deadened imperceptive dimmed inaccurate imprecise See More 2 as in urgent needing immediate attention famine caused by an acute shortage of grain Synonyms & Similar Words urgent intense emergent dire exigent critical pressing serious compelling immediate imperative instant crying desperate extreme severe imperious importunate burning clamant necessitous insistent overriding dangerous hazardous crucial demanding precarious life-or-death perilous explosive life-and-death unstable grave vital Antonyms & Near Antonyms noncritical minor incidental nonurgent trivial negligible unimportant stable low-pressure safe nonthreatening See More 3 as in intense extreme in degree, power, or effect experiencing acute distress over the misunderstanding with her best friend Synonyms & Similar Words intense intensive fierce ferocious deep terrible profound violent heavy furious explosive vicious excruciating heightened exquisite fearful dreadful vehement ghastly blistering frightful intensified severe fearsome aggravated almighty keen hellacious concentrated harsh hard accentuated deepened heavy-duty enhanced stressed magnified emphasized exhaustive rigorous thorough Antonyms & Near Antonyms moderate weak light feeble soft superficial shallow qualified decreased diminished eased reduced toned (down) subdued moderated alleviated lessened abated lightened See More Synonym Chooser The words keen and sharp are common synonyms of acute. While all three words mean "having or showing alert competence and clear understanding," acute implies a power to penetrate and may suggest subtlety and sharpness of discrimination. an acute sense of style The synonyms keen and acute are sometimes interchangeable, but keen suggests quickness, enthusiasm, and a penetrating mind. a keen observer of the political scene While in some cases nearly identical to acute, sharp implies quick perception, clever resourcefulness, or sometimes questionable trickiness. sharp enough to spot a confidence game
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acute

adjective

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Phrases Containing acute

Kids Definition

adjective

Medical Definition

adjective

adjective

Synonym Chooser