What does "acute" mean?
A person who has the acute form of a disorder, such as schizophrenia.
Acute
/əˈkjuːt/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person who has the acute form of a disorder, such as schizophrenia.
- Grammar: acute is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: intense, keen, sharp, absorbing.
- Useful contrasts: obtuse-angled, benign, chronic.
- Usage evidence: This city will suffer from an acute water shortage unless it rains soon.
How to use "acute"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "acute" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "acute" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "acute" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "acute" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "acute" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "intense" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "acute", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person who has the acute form of a disorder, such as schizophrenia. informal
"Anne Marie had been assigned a ‘constant supervision’ status. […] Always avoiding the unrest of the television lounge, she would sometimes join some of the older ‘acutes’ who sat isolated in metal chairs at the end of the hallway and gaze out of the window with them."
- 2 a mark placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation wordnet
- 3 An accent or tone higher than others. historical
"[I]t would be strange if we wer to recite Homer, raising our voices on the acutes, lowering them on the graves, and managing the circumflexes as well as we could, yet to recite Virgil without any of these regular elevations, depressions, and circumbendibus."
- 4 An acute accent (´).
"The word ‘cafe’ often has an acute over the ‘e’."
Verb
- 1 To give an acute sound to. transitive
"He acutes his rising inflection too much."
- 2 To make acute; to sharpen, to whet. archaic, transitive
"[A]n old Farmer […] uſed, when fuddled over Night, to walk naked, or only in his Shirt, until he had cooled himſelf throughly, […] This Courſe may not be improperly call'd a Balenum Aerium, and may be of great Uſe to ſober People, as well as the Fuddlers; for running empty, after Sleep and Concoction, warms the Blood and Spirits, acutes the Circulations, fans and cools the Lungs, helps both Excretion and Secretion; […]"
Adjective
- 1 Brief, quick, short.
"It was an acute event."
- 2 High or shrill.
"an acute accent or tone"
- 3 Intense; sensitive; sharp.
"She had an acute sense of honour"
- 4 Urgent.
"His need for medical attention was acute."
- 5 With the sides meeting directly to form an acute angle (at an apex or base).
"204. Eremophila abietina […] Corolla 23–35 mm long, cream or very pale lilac, lobes faintly metallic bluish green or lilac, tube occasionally brownish, prominently purple spotted; outer and inner surfaces glandular-pubescent; lobes acute, lobe of lower lip strongly reflexed."
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 Less than 90 degrees.
"The teacher pointed out the acute angle."
- 7 Having all three interior angles measuring less than 90 degrees.
"an acute triangle"
- 8 Of an accent or tone: generally higher than others. historical
"Let this [the word alalal] be ſpoken as an Engliſh word, with the ſtrong accent on either ſyllable, or, on each, in repeating the word; and, no change of articulation diſturbing the ear, it will be abundantly evident that, with ordinary Engliſh pronunciation, the strengthened syllable has always the acuter tone, or, in muſical phraſe, the higher note."
- 9 Sharp, produced in the front of the mouth. (See Grave and acute on Wikipedia.Wikipedia) dated
- 10 Of an abnormal condition of recent or sudden onset, in contrast to delayed onset; this sense does not imply severity, unlike the common usage.
"He dropped dead of an acute illness."
- 11 Of a short-lived condition, in contrast to a chronic condition; this sense also does not imply severity.
"The acute symptoms resolved promptly."
- 12 Of a letter of the alphabet, having an acute accent. postpositional
"The last letter of ‘café’ is ‘e’ acute."
Adjective
- 1 having or experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe course wordnet
- 2 of critical importance and consequence wordnet
- 3 extremely sharp or severe wordnet
- 4 having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions wordnet
- 5 ending in a sharp point wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 of an angle; less than 90 degrees wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"This city will suffer from an acute water shortage unless it rains soon."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "acute"?
Common synonyms include: intense, keen, sharp, absorbing, acanthoid, acanthous.
How do you use "acute" in a sentence?
This city will suffer from an acute water shortage unless it rains soon.
How do you pronounce "acute"?
Pronounced /əˈkjuːt/.
Etymology
From Late Middle English acute (“of a disease or fever: starting suddenly and lasting for a short time; of a humour: irritating, sharp”), from Latin acūta, from acūtus (“sharp, sharpened”), perfect passive participle of acuō (“to make pointed, sharpen, whet”), from acus (“needle, pin”). The word is cognate to ague (“acute, intermittent fever”). As regards the noun, which is derived from the verb, compare Middle English acūte (“severe but short-lived fever; of blood: corrosiveness, sharpness; musical note of high pitch”).