acute

CEFRC1

/əˈkjuːt/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Very serious or severe, often beginning suddenly.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Having a sharp point or angle.

Examples

  • There is an acute shortage of water.

  • This city will suffer from an acute water shortage unless it rains soon.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /əˈkjut/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. High or shrill.

  2. Intense; sensitive; sharp.

  3. Brief, quick, short.

More examples

In context

  • I have an acute pain here.

  • She had an acute sense of honour

  • It was an acute event.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The patient was admitted to the hospital due to an blank pain in his lower abdomen that required immediate attention.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

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”).