Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use acumen in a sentence

16 example sentences · noun

Acumen means quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination; acuity of mind. Example: “With all respect for your natural acumen, I do not think that you are quite a match for the worthy doctor.”

Examples of acumen by meaning

nounQuickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination; acuity of mind.

  • With all respect for your natural acumen, I do not think that you are quite a match for the worthy doctor.1905, Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes
  • Enthrall me with your acumen.1991, Ted Tally, The Silence of the Lambs (motion picture), spoken by Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins)

nounA sharp, tapering point extending from a plant.

  • Rybinii from which it is distinguished by the greater dissection of the leaves, the longer calyx acumens, smaller anthers and coloured corolla.1956, S.M. Bukasov, Translation of THEORETICAL BASES OF PLAN BREEDING, page 6
  • Finally, the acumina of all the narrowly lanceolate leaves of both species tend to be straight rather than curved.1960, Svensk botanisk tidskrift, page 385
  • The arched corolla lobes and large acumens give the corolla a circular appearance with acumens standing out sharply from it.1978, chapter 2, in The Potato Crop: The scientific basis for improvement, →ISBN, page 30

nounA bony, often sharp, protuberance, especially that of the ischium.

  • It ends in a more or less acute tip, or acumen, and may have a lateral spine on each side or bear a longitudinal keel (carina) on the dorsal surface.c. 1918, University of California, Pamphlets on Biology: Kofoid collection, Volume 1586, page 692
  • DIAGNOSIS—Rostrum usually with marginal spines, tubercles, or angles at base of acumen, and rarely with low medina carina.1981, Horton Holcombe Hobbs, The Crayfishes of Georgia: Issue 318 of Smithsonian contributions to zoology, Smithsonian Institution, page 486
  • Variations.—Most specimens examined have concave rostral margins that taper to the acumen and the rostral length is greater than the rostral width.1993, Biological Society of Washington, Smithsonian Institution, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, Volume 106, page 351

More sentences with acumen

  • Sheinbaum, who lacks his charisma and political acumen, is seen as the continuator of his political project.2024 March 17, Ilan Stavans, “Will Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum, a Jewish Woman, Blaze a Trail or Follow One?”, in The New York Times…. From the entry continuator
  • He was, however, a citydweller, and, due to his father's business acumen, an upper-middle-class citydweller.1997, Thomas Parkhill, Weaving Ourselves into the Land, page 94. From the entry citydweller
  • Oswald's pacifical temperament, and his diplomatic acumen, by raising again the subject of Canada.1974, Lloyd C. Gardner, William L. O'Neill, Looking backward: a reintroduction to American history. From the entry pacifical
  • Described as "the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms," Hightower has both "courtly grace and a keen political acumen."2021 March 10, Elaine Low, “"Game of Thrones" prequel "House of the Dragon" adds Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy”, in Salon. From the entry comely
  • She also admires her chachas—Sajjan's engineering bent of mind, Ratan's financial acumen and Naveen's abilities as a great communicator.2011, Sonia Golani, Corporate Divas, Penguin UK, →ISBN. From the entry chacha
  • Women are cited for their dedicated church work and their business acumen, an ability that race detractors felt Black women lacked.2000, Joanne K., Grant Harrison, The Life and Times of Irvine Garland Penn, Xlibris, →ISBN, page 97. From the entry race detractor
  • Hu is fond of enigmas, of conundrums, of hieroglyphics; exhibiting in hus solutions of each and all a degree of acumen which appears to the ordinary apprehension preternatural.2002 January 3, Bryan T. McMahon, quoting Sasha Newborn, “A terrible book”, in The Ponchatoula Times, page 7. From the entry hu
  • And no less spurious is the theory that, in either case or in both together, the jury is possessed of a remarkably rich acumen in the matter of theatrical values.1971, George Jean Nathan, The Entertainment of a Nation: Or, Three-sheets in the Wind, page 130. From the entry jury

Meaning of acumen

  1. noun Quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination; acuity of mind.
  2. noun A sharp, tapering point extending from a plant.
  3. noun A bony, often sharp, protuberance, especially that of the ischium.

Full definition of acumen

Questions about acumen in a sentence

How do you use acumen in a sentence?
Acumen is used as a noun. For example: “With all respect for your natural acumen, I do not think that you are quite a match for the worthy doctor.”
What is a short sentence with acumen?
“Enthrall me with your acumen.”
What does acumen mean?
Acumen means quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination; acuity of mind.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: acumen (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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