acuteness

UK: /əˈkjuːtnɪs/

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

a•cute /əˈkyut/   adj. 

1. sharp or severe in effect;
   intense:
   acute pain.
2. extremely great or serious;
   critical:
   an acute shortage of oil.
3. (of disease) of sudden onset and severe(disting. from chronic ):
   acute bronchitis.
4. very sharp in intellect, insight, or perception.
5. extremely sensitive:
   acute hearing.
6. Mathematics
   • (of an angle) less than 90°.
   • (of a triangle) containing only acute angles.

a•cute•ly, adv. 
a•cute•ness, n. [uncountable] See -acr-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

a•cute  (ə kyo̅o̅t′), 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.]
   • (of an angle) less than 90°. See diag. under angle. 
   • (of a triangle) containing only acute angles. See diag. under triangle. 
8. consisting of, indicated by, or bearing the mark ˊ, 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.

• Latin acūtus sharpened, past participle of acuere (acū-, verb, verbal stem, akin to acus needle, ācer sharp + -tus past participle suffix)
• 1560–70

a•cute′ly, adv. 
a•cute′ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 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.

Antonyms

• 1, 4.
• 5. dull.