acute

/əˈkjuːt//əˈkjut/

acute adjective: brief, quick, short.

Adjective

acute (comparative acuter or more acute, superlative acutest or most acute)

Brief, quick, short.
- It was an acute event.
- Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident. Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term...2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance: How Risky is Inhalation of Organic Solvents?”, in American Scientist, Research Triangle Park, N.C.: Sigma Xi, →ISSN...
Synonyms:

fast, rapid

Antonyms:

leisurely, slow
High or shrill.
- an acute accent or tone
- The nimble Fly's Wings quicker were / Than those of her Competitor [a bee], / As may by this appear; / For an acuter Tone they made, / And in a ſharper Key they play'd, / (Which made the matter clear.)1751, “a Lover of the Mathematicks” [pseudonym; Nathaniel Whittemore?], “Part II. New Paradoxes Solved.”, in A Mathematical Miscellany, in Four Parts., London: Printed for M. Cooper, […], →OCLC...
Antonyms:

grave
Intense; sensitive; sharp.
- She had an acute sense of honour
- Eagles have very acute vision.
Synonyms:

keen, powerful, strong, peracute

Antonyms:

dull, obtuse, slow, witless
Urgent.
- His need for medical attention was acute.
- […] Ahab rapidly ordered the ship's course to be slightly altered, and the sail to be shortened. The acute policy dictating these movements was sufficiently vindicated at daybreak, by the sight of a long sleek on the sea directly and lengthwise ahead, smooth as oil, and resembling in the pleated...1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Chase—First Day”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 601
Synonyms:

emergent, pressing, sudden
With the sides meeting directly to form an acute angle (at an apex or base).
- 204. Eremophila abietina […] Corolla 23–35 mm long, cream or very pale lilac, lobes faintly metallic bluish green or lilac, tube occasionally brownish, prominently purple spotted; outer and inner surfaces glandular-pubescent; lobes acute, lobe of lower lip strongly reflexed.2007 April 24, R[obert] J[ames] Chinnock, “Taxonomic Treatment of the Family Myoporaceae R. Br.”, in Eremophila and Allied Genera: A Monograph of the Plant Family Myoporaceae, Dural Delivery Centre...
Antonyms:

obtuse, subacute
Less than 90 degrees.
- The teacher pointed out the acute angle.
- Chlorophosphuret of nitrogen (at ordinary temperatures) is a solid crystalline body. […] The form of the crystals, as obtained by sublimation, is that of a rhomboid, of which the obtuse angle measures 131° or 132°, the acute 48° or 49°: the acute angle of this rhomboid, either at one or both ends...1850 March 30, J[ohn] H[all] Gladstone, “On Chlorophosphuret of Nitrogen and Its Products of Decomposition”, in Henry Watts, editor, The Quarterly Journal of the Chemical Society of London, volume...
Antonyms:

obtuse
Having all three interior angles measuring less than 90 degrees.
- an acute triangle
- In order to be an acute triangle, all three angles of a triangle must be less than 90°. These triangles can have very prickly personalities. So, if you want to create images of porcupines, rugged mountains, or narrow pine trees in your geometric design, you may best do it by using acute...1997, Joen Wolfrom, “The Fascination of Shapes”, in The Visual Dance: Creating Spectacular Quilts, Lafayette, Calif.: C&T Publishing, →ISBN; republished Lafayette, Calif.: C&T Publishing, 2009...
Synonyms:

acute-angled

Antonyms:

obtuse, obtuse-angled
(historical) Of an accent or tone: generally higher than others.
- Let this [the word alalal] be ſpoken as an Engliſh word, with the ſtrong accent on either ſyllable, or, on each, in repeating the word; and, no change of articulation diſturbing the ear, it will be abundantly evident that, with ordinary Engliſh pronunciation, the strengthened syllable has always...1804, William Mitford, “Section IV. Of Tones or Accents, and Emphasis in English Speech, and of Their Connection with the Time or Quantity of Syllables.”, in An Inquiry into the Principles of Harmony...
(dated) Sharp, produced in the front of the mouth. (See Grave and acute on Wikipedia.Wikipedia )
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 particular relevance to the ICU [intensive care unit] setting is ketorolac, a NSAID [non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug] that is being increasingly used for pain control in order to avoid problems of respiratory depression, sedation, and addiction associated with narcotics. […] ICU patients...1995, G. J. Kaloyanides, “Drug-induced Acute Renal Failure”, in Rinaldo Bellomo, Claudio Ronco, editors, Acute Renal Failure in the Critically Ill (Update in Intensitve Care and Emergency Medicine...
Of a short-lived condition, in contrast to a chronic condition; this sense also does not imply severity.
- The acute symptoms resolved promptly.
- Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir...2013 May–June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News: Bat News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, Research Triangle Park, N.C.: Sigma Xi, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Jun 2017...
Antonyms:

chronic
(postpositional) Of a letter of the alphabet, having an acute accent.
- The last letter of ‘café’ is ‘e’ acute.
- A more conservative approach, particularly if your author is a skilled computer user, would be to replace the problem characters with simple words or codes that are guaranteed to transfer successfully between computers. For example, you could replace é with e-acute if that particular character is...2007, Geoff[rey J. S.] Hart, “Editing in Special Situations”, in Effective Onsceen Editing: New Tools for an Old Profession, Pointe-Claire, Que.: Diaskeuasis Publishing, →ISBN, page 404

Noun

acute (plural acutes)

(informal) A person who has the acute form of a disorder, such as schizophrenia.
- Anne Marie had been assigned a ‘constant supervision’ status. […] Always avoiding the unrest of the television lounge, she would sometimes join some of the older ‘acutes’ who sat isolated in metal chairs at the end of the hallway and gaze out of the window with them.1990, Gerry Fewster, “Down to Business”, in Being in Child Care: A Journey into Self, Binghamton, N.Y.; London: The Haworth Press, →ISBN; republished New York, N.Y.; Hove, East Sussex: Routledge...
(historical) An accent or tone higher than others.
- [I]t would be strange if we wer to recite Homer, raising our voices on the acutes, lowering them on the graves, and managing the circumflexes as well as we could, yet to recite Virgil without any of these regular elevations, depressions, and circumbendibus.1827, Uvedale Price, “Restoration of Ancient Accent Impossible”, in An Essay on the Modern Pronunciation of the Greek and Latin Languages, Oxford: Printed by W. Baxter, →OCLC, page 206
- There would be no sense in our assuming that even an independent circumflex after an acute might be raised in pitch for the sake of clearer distinction from that acute; for it is sufficiently distinguished by its sliding tone; and, if it had any right to be further distinguished, an acute following...1869–1870, William D[wight] Whitney, “II.—On the Nature and Designation of the Accent in Sanskrit.”, in Transactions of the American Philological Association, Hartford, Conn.: Published by the...
Antonyms:

grave
An acute accent (´).
- The word ‘cafe’ often has an acute over the ‘e’.
- The number of Notes in this Table, without either acute or grave marks (´ or `), is 75. Of those bearing one acute mark (´) it is 74, of those with two acutes (´´) 70, with three acutes (´´´ or ´³) 51, […]1817 June, John Farey, Sen., “CI. On Mr. Listons, or the Euharmonic Scale of Musical Intervals, […]”, in Alexander Tilloch, editor, The Philosophical Magazine and Journal: […], volume XLIX, number...

Verb

acute (third-person singular simple present acutes, present participle acuting, simple past and past participle acuted)

(transitive) To give an acute sound to.
- He acutes his rising inflection too much.
- Polyſyllables having their Penultima long by poſition are acuted; as Camíllus: but having it long by nature and the last ſhort, they are circumflected; as, Românus, amâre: except the Compounds of ſit, whose Ultima is acuted; as Malefít, calefít, benefít, ſatisfít.1696, [William] Lily, W. T., “Prosodia Examin’d and Explain’d by Question and Answer”, in Lily, Improved, Corrected, and Explained; with the Etymological Part of the Common Accidence, London: Printed...
(archaic, transitive) To make acute; to sharpen, to whet.
- [A]n old Farmer […] uſed, when fuddled over Night, to walk naked, or only in his Shirt, until he had cooled himſelf throughly, […] This Courſe may not be improperly call'd a Balenum Aerium, and may be of great Uſe to ſober People, as well as the Fuddlers; for running empty, after Sleep and...1732, John Floyer, Edward Baynard, “[The Appendix.] The Other Cure Wrought by the Cold Bath, was upon Mrs. Taylor, a Young Gentlewoman that Boarded at My Father’s”, in ΨΥΧΡΟΛΟΥΣΙ´Α [PSYCHROLOUSIA]...
- It had been over a week that I had not been over to visit my most favorable place. Since I was allowed a rare opening that jaggled an intense curiosity, it acuted my senses with great anticipation that a living current was felt in my center, brought on by something truly new.2010, R. J. Cyle, The Verticord: Turner of Hearts, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 36

acute meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

acute in Tamil

கூர்மையான, கடுமையான, தீவிரமான, கடிய, செங்கோணத்திற்குறைந்த, எடுப்போசை

acute in Bengali

তীব্র, সূক্ষ্ম, বিষম, গভীর, তীক্ষ্ন, প্রখর

More languagesFewer languages

acute in Malayalam: കൂർത്ത, സൂക്ഷ്മബുദ്ധിയുള്ള, തീവ്രമായ, തീക്ഷ്ണമായ
acute in Kannada: ಮುಳ್ಳು, ಮೊನಚಾದ, ತೀಕ್ಷ್ಣವಾದ, ಕೂರಾದ
acute in Gujarati: તીવ્ર tīvra
acute in Sanskrit: सूक्ष्म sūkṣma
acute in Nepali: अक्युटिङ, एक्युटिङ
acute in Tagalog: kipot, pahilis
acute in Arabic: حَادّ ḥādd, شَدِيد šadīd
acute in Malay: tajam, tirus, mendadak, akut
acute in Persian: تند tond, تیز tiz, حاد hâd, سواره savâre
acute in Thai: แหลม lɛ̌ɛm
acute in Vietnamese: cấp tính, cấp, sắc
acute in Myanmar: ကျဉ်း kyany:

Examples of acute in a sentence

Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident.2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance: How Risky is Inhalation of Organic Solvents?”, in...
The acuteness of sound in stringed instruments depends on three circumstances—length, thickness, and tension.1851, William C. Larrabee, “Lecture X. Evidences of Design from the Structure and Adaptations of the External Senses.”, in B[enjamin]...
Elizabeth, who had expected to find in her as acute and unembarrassed an observer as ever Mr.1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter II, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume III, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […]...
It was at this time that the discord between Dmitri and his father seemed at its acutest stage and their relations had become insufferably strained.1912, Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Elders”, in Constance Garnett, transl., The Brothers Karamazov (Novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky; 1), London...

All 40 example sentences with acute

Synonyms of acute

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of acute

Forms of acute

Adjective
comparative	acuter
comparative	more acute
superlative	acutest
superlative	most acute
Noun
plural	acutes
Verb
third-person singular present	acutes
present participle	acuting
past participle	acuted
past	acuted

Origin of acute

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”).

Words formed from acute

Phrases with acute

2 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with acute

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about acute

What does acute mean?: Acute means brief, quick, short.
What is acute in Hindi?: Acute in Hindi is पैना (painā). See Acute meaning in Hindi.
How do you use acute in a sentence?: Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident.
What part of speech is acute?: Acute can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce acute?: Acute is pronounced /əˈkjuːt/ (UK).

Words near acute in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-acute.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-acute.wav, en-au-acute.ogg.

Cite this entry: “acute.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/acute. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.