— acutely , adv. — acuteness , n.
/euh kyooht"/ , adj.
1. sharp or severe in effect; intense: acute sorrow; an acute pain.
2. extremely great or serious; crucial; critical: an acute shortage of oil.
3. (of disease) brief and severe (opposed to chronic ).
4. sharp or penetrating in intellect, insight, or perception: an acute observer.
5. extremely sensitive even to slight details or impressions: acute eyesight.
6. sharp at the end; ending in a point.
7. Geom.
a. (of an angle) less than 90°. See diag. under angle .
b. (of a triangle) containing only acute angles. See diag. under triangle .
8. consisting of, indicated by, or bearing the mark / , placed over vowel symbols in some languages to show that the vowels or the syllables they are in are pronounced in a certain way, as in French that the quality of an e so marked is close; in Hungarian that the vowel is long; in Spanish that the marked syllable bears the word accent; in Ibo that it is pronounced with high tones; or in classical Greek, where the mark originated, that the syllable bears the word accent and is pronounced, according to the ancient grammarians, with raised pitch (opposed to grave ): the acute accent; an acute e.
n.
9. the acute accent.
[ 1560-70; acutus sharpened, ptp. of acuere ( acu-, v. stem, akin to acus needle, acer sharp + -tus ptp. suffix) ]
Syn. 3. sudden, distressing, violent. 4. keen, astute, discerning, perceptive, intelligent, perspicacious; sharp-witted, clever, smart, bright, ingenious, brilliant; knowing, wise, sage, sagacious, sapient. ACUTE, PENETRATING, SHREWD imply a keenness of understanding, perception, or insight. ACUTE suggests particularly a clearness of perception and a realization of related meanings: an acute intellect. PENETRATING adds the idea of depth of perception and a realization of implications: a wise and penetrating judgment. SHREWD adds the idea of knowing how to apply practically (or to one's own advantage) what one perceives and understands: wary and shrewd. 5. keen.
Ant. 1, 4, 5. dull.