Acute \A*cute"\, a. [L. acutus, p. p. of acuere to sharpen, fr.
a root ak to be sharp. Cf. Ague, Cute, Edge.]
1. Sharp at the end; ending in a sharp point; pointed; --
opposed to blunt or obtuse; as, an acute angle; an
acute leaf.
[1913 Webster]
2. Having nice discernment; perceiving or using minute
distinctions; penetrating; clever; shrewd; -- opposed to
dull or stupid; as, an acute observer; acute remarks,
or reasoning.
[1913 Webster]
3. Having nice or quick sensibility; susceptible to slight
impressions; acting keenly on the senses; sharp; keen;
intense; as, a man of acute eyesight, hearing, or feeling;
acute pain or pleasure.
[1913 Webster]
4. High, or shrill, in respect to some other sound; --
opposed to grave or low; as, an acute tone or accent.
[1913 Webster]
5. (Med.) Attended with symptoms of some degree of severity,
and coming speedily to a crisis; -- opposed to chronic;
as, an acute disease. AS
[1913 Webster]
Acute angle (Geom.), an angle less than a right angle.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Subtile; ingenious; sharp; keen; penetrating; sagacious;
sharp-witted; shrewd; discerning; discriminating. See
Subtile.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Acute \A*cute"\, v. t.
To give an acute sound to; as, he acutes his rising
inflection too much. [R.] --Walker.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
acute
adj 1: having or experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe
course; "acute appendicitis"; "the acute phase of the
illness"; "acute patients" [ant: chronic]
2: extremely sharp or intense; "acute pain"; "felt acute
annoyance"; "intense itching and burning" [syn: intense]
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" [syn: discriminating, incisive, keen,
knifelike, penetrating, penetrative, piercing, sharp]
4: of an angle; less than 90 degrees [ant: obtuse]
5: ending in a sharp point [syn: acuate, sharp, needlelike]
6: of critical importance and consequence; "an acute (or
critical) lack of research funds"
n : a mark (') placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation
[syn: acute accent, ague]
WordNet (r) 2.0
284 Moby Thesaurus words for "acute":
Machiavellian, Machiavellic, absorbing, acanthoid, acanthous,
accurate, acicular, acrid, active, acuate, aculeate, aculeiform,
acuminate, afflictive, aggravated, aggressive, agonizing, alert,
animated, apperceptive, appercipient, arch, argute, artful, astute,
atrocious, aware, barbed, biting, brisk, cagey, canny, clamorous,
clever, climacteric, cogent, compelling, cornuted, crafty,
cramping, creaky, critical, crucial, cruel, crying, cunning,
cusped, cuspidate, cute, cutting, dangerous, deceitful, deep,
deep-felt, deep-laid, deepgoing, designing, desperate, diplomatic,
dire, discerning, discriminating, distressing, double-edged,
drastic, dynamic, ear-piercing, edged, energetic, enterprising,
enthusiastic, excessive, excruciating, exigent, exorbitant,
exquisite, extravagant, extreme, farseeing, farsighted,
featheredged, feline, fierce, fine, forceful, forcible, foreseeing,
foresighted, forethoughted, forethoughtful, foxy, full of pep,
furious, gnawing, go-go, grave, great, griping, guileful, hard,
harrowing, harsh, hazardous, heartfelt, hearty, high,
high-pressure, high-priority, hispid, homefelt, horned, horny,
howling, hurtful, hurting, immoderate, imperative, imperious,
impetuous, incisive, indelible, ingenious, insidious, insightful,
insistent, instant, intelligent, intemperate, intense, intensified,
inventive, keen, keen-edged, keening, kinetic, knifelike, knowing,
lively, living, longheaded, longsighted, lusty, menacing,
meticulous, mettlesome, mucronate, narrow, needle-pointed,
needle-sharp, observant, outrageous, painful, paroxysmal, pawky,
peaked, peaky, penetrating, peppy, perceptive, percipient,
perilous, perspicacious, perspicuous, pervading, piercing, piping,
pivotal, poignant, pointed, politic, precarious, precise, pressing,
prickly, probing, profound, pronged, provident, pungent,
quick-witted, racking, razor-edged, ready, reedy, resourceful,
rigorous, robust, rough, sagacious, scheming, screaky, screeching,
screechy, sensitive, serious, serpentine, set, severe, shall,
sharp, sharp-pointed, sharp-sighted, sharp-witted, shifty,
shooting, shrewd, shrieking, shrieky, shrill, slick, slippery, sly,
smacking, smooth, snaky, snappy, sneaky, sophistical, spanking,
spasmatic, spasmic, spasmodic, spiculate, spiked, spiky, spined,
spinous, spiny, spirited, splitting, squeaking, squeaky, stabbing,
stealthy, stinging, strategic, strenuous, strong, subtile, subtle,
sudden, supple, tactical, take-charge, take-over, tapered,
tapering, thin, threatening, tined, tinny, toothed, tormenting,
torturous, tough, treble, trenchant, trickish, tricksy, tricky,
two-edged, ululant, unbated, unconscionable, understanding, urgent,
vehement, venomous, vibrant, vigorous, violent, virulent,
vivacious, vivid, vulpine, wailing, wary, whining, whistling, wily,
wise, zestful, zesty, zippy
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
|
|
|