Acute

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Acute \A*cute"\, v. t.
     To give an acute sound to; as, he acutes his rising
     inflection too much. [R.] --Walker.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  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}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  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