acute

Meanings

Adjective

• Brief, quick, short.
• High or shrill.
• Intense, sensitive, sharp.
• Urgent.
• With the sides meeting directly to form an acute angle (at an apex or base).
• Of an angle: less than 90 degrees.
• Of a triangle: having all three interior angles measuring less than 90 degrees.
• Of an accent or tone: generally higher than others.
• Of an abnormal condition of recent or sudden onset, in contrast to delayed onset; this sense does not imply severity, unlike the common usage.
• Of a short-lived condition, in contrast to a chronic condition; this sense also does not imply severity.
• After a letter of the alphabet: having an acute accent.

Noun

• A person who has the acute form of a disorder, such as schizophrenia.
• An accent or tone higher than others.
• An acute accent (´).

Verb

• To give an acute sound to.
• To make acute; to sharpen, to whet.

Origin

• From Late Middle English acūte ("of a disease or fever: starting suddenly and lasting for a short time; of a humour: irritating, sharp"), from Latin acūta, from acūtus, perfect passive participle of acuō, from acus, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- ("sharp"). The word is cognate to ague.
• 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").