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Added 9 October 2026

acute

/əˈkjuːt/ adjective

In Latin: acutus Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about acute at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Brief, quick, short.
It was an acute event.
High or shrill.
an acute accent or tone
Intense; sensitive; sharp.
She had an acute sense of honour

noun

A person who has the acute form of a disorder, such as schizophrenia.
An accent or tone higher than others.
An acute accent (´).
The word ‘cafe’ often has an acute over the ‘e’.

verb

To give an acute sound to.
He acutes his rising inflection too much.
To make acute; to sharpen, to whet.

Origin

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”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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