Acuminate

//əˈkjuːmɪnət// adj, verb

adj, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To render sharp or keen; to sharpen. transitive

    "September 17, 1784, William Cowper, letter to the Rev. John Newton To acuminate even despair."

  2. 2
    make sharp or acute; taper; make (something) come to a point wordnet
  3. 3
    To end in or come to a sharp point. intransitive
Adjective
  1. 1
    Tapering to a point; pointed.

    "acuminate leaves, teeth, etc."

  2. 2
    Tapering to a long point in concave manner at its apex.
Adjective
  1. 1
    (of a leaf shape) narrowing to a slender point wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
acutebarbedbitebristlecutedge

Example

More examples

"September 17, 1784, William Cowper, letter to the Rev. John Newton To acuminate even despair."

Etymology

First attested in 1611; borrowed from Latin acuminātus, perfect passive participle acuminō (“to sharpen to a point”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Related phrases

long-acuminate

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.