acute

 
Pronunciation: /əˈkjuːt/

adjective

  • 1(of an unpleasant or unwelcome situation or phenomenon) present or experienced to a severe or intense degree: an acute housing shortage the problem is acute and getting worse
  • (of a disease or its symptoms) severe but of short duration: acute appendicitisOften contrasted with chronic.
  • denoting or designed for patients with an acute form of a disease: an acute ward acute patients
  • 2having or showing a perceptive understanding or insight; shrewd: an acute awareness of changing fashions
  • (of a physical sense or faculty) highly developed; keen: an acute sense of smell
  • 3(of an angle) less than 90°.
  • having a sharp end; pointed.
  • 4(of a sound) high; shrill.

noun

Derivatives

acuteness

noun

Origin:

late Middle English (describing a disease or its symptoms): from Latin acutus, past participle of acuere 'sharpen', from acus 'needle'