Acute \A*cute"\, a. [L. acutus, p. p. of acuere to sharpen, fr. a root ak to be sharp. Cf. Ague, Cute, Edge.]

1. Sharp at the end; ending in a sharp point; pointed; -- opposed to blunt or obtuse; as, an acute angle; an acute leaf. [1913 Webster]

2. Having nice discernment; perceiving or using minute distinctions; penetrating; clever; shrewd; -- opposed to dull or stupid; as, an acute observer; acute remarks, or reasoning. [1913 Webster]

3. Having nice or quick sensibility; susceptible to slight impressions; acting keenly on the senses; sharp; keen; intense; as, a man of acute eyesight, hearing, or feeling; acute pain or pleasure. [1913 Webster]

4. High, or shrill, in respect to some other sound; -- opposed to grave or low; as, an acute tone or accent. [1913 Webster]

5. (Med.) Attended with symptoms of some degree of severity, and coming speedily to a crisis; -- opposed to chronic; as, an acute disease. AS [1913 Webster]

Acute angle (Geom.), an angle less than a right angle. [1913 Webster]

Syn: Subtile; ingenious; sharp; keen; penetrating; sagacious; sharp-witted; shrewd; discerning; discriminating. See Subtile. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

Acute \A*cute"\, v. t. To give an acute sound to; as, he acutes his rising inflection too much. [R.]

--Walker. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

284 Moby Thesaurus words for "acute": Machiavellian, Machiavellic, absorbing, acanthoid, acanthous, accurate, acicular, acrid, active, acuate, aculeate, aculeiform, acuminate, afflictive, aggravated, aggressive, agonizing, alert, animated, apperceptive, appercipient, arch, argute, artful, astute, atrocious, aware, barbed, biting, brisk, cagey, canny, clamorous, clever, climacteric, cogent, compelling, cornuted, crafty, cramping, creaky, critical, crucial, cruel, crying, cunning, cusped, cuspidate, cute, cutting, dangerous, deceitful, deep, deep-felt, deep-laid, deepgoing, designing, desperate, diplomatic, dire, discerning, discriminating, distressing, double-edged, drastic, dynamic, ear-piercing, edged, energetic, enterprising, enthusiastic, excessive, excruciating, exigent, exorbitant, exquisite, extravagant, extreme, farseeing, farsighted, featheredged, feline, fierce, fine, forceful, forcible, foreseeing, foresighted, forethoughted, forethoughtful, foxy, full of pep, furious, gnawing, go-go, grave, great, griping, guileful, hard, harrowing, harsh, hazardous, heartfelt, hearty, high, high-pressure, high-priority, hispid, homefelt, horned, horny, howling, hurtful, hurting, immoderate, imperative, imperious, impetuous, incisive, indelible, ingenious, insidious, insightful, insistent, instant, intelligent, intemperate, intense, intensified, inventive, keen, keen-edged, keening, kinetic, knifelike, knowing, lively, living, longheaded, longsighted, lusty, menacing, meticulous, mettlesome, mucronate, narrow, needle-pointed, needle-sharp, observant, outrageous, painful, paroxysmal, pawky, peaked, peaky, penetrating, peppy, perceptive, percipient, perilous, perspicacious, perspicuous, pervading, piercing, piping, pivotal, poignant, pointed, politic, precarious, precise, pressing, prickly, probing, profound, pronged, provident, pungent, quick-witted, racking, razor-edged, ready, reedy, resourceful, rigorous, robust, rough, sagacious, scheming, screaky, screeching, screechy, sensitive, serious, serpentine, set, severe, shall, sharp, sharp-pointed, sharp-sighted, sharp-witted, shifty, shooting, shrewd, shrieking, shrieky, shrill, slick, slippery, sly, smacking, smooth, snaky, snappy, sneaky, sophistical, spanking, spasmatic, spasmic, spasmodic, spiculate, spiked, spiky, spined, spinous, spiny, spirited, splitting, squeaking, squeaky, stabbing, stealthy, stinging, strategic, strenuous, strong, subtile, subtle, sudden, supple, tactical, take-charge, take-over, tapered, tapering, thin, threatening, tined, tinny, toothed, tormenting, torturous, tough, treble, trenchant, trickish, tricksy, tricky, two-edged, ululant, unbated, unconscionable, understanding, urgent, vehement, venomous, vibrant, vigorous, violent, virulent, vivacious, vivid, vulpine, wailing, wary, whining, whistling, wily, wise, zestful, zesty, zippy

Source: Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
 

acute adj
1: having or experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe course; "acute appendicitis"; "the acute phase of the illness"; "acute patients" [ant: chronic]
2: extremely sharp or intense; "acute pain"; "felt acute annoyance"; "intense itching and burning" [syn: intense]
3: having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions; "an acute observer of politics and politicians"; "incisive comments"; "icy knifelike reasoning"; "as sharp and incisive as the stroke of a fang"; "penetrating insight"; "frequent penetrative observations" [syn: discriminating, incisive, keen, knifelike, penetrating, penetrative, piercing, sharp]
4: of an angle; less than 90 degrees [ant: obtuse]
5: ending in a sharp point [syn: acuate, sharp, needlelike]
6: of critical importance and consequence; "an acute (or critical) lack of research funds"

noun

a mark (') placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation [syn: acute accent, ague]

Source: WordNet (r) 2.0
 

Acute \A*cute"\, a. [L. acutus, p. p. of acuere to sharpen, fr. a root ak to be sharp. Cf. Ague, Cute, Edge.]

1. Sharp at the end; ending in a sharp point; pointed; -- opposed to blunt or obtuse; as, an acute angle; an acute leaf.

2. Having nice discernment; perceiving or using minute distinctions; penetrating; clever; shrewd; -- opposed to dull or stupid; as, an acute observer; acute remarks, or reasoning.

3. Having nice or quick sensibility; susceptible to slight impressions; acting keenly on the senses; sharp; keen; intense; as, a man of acute eyesight, hearing, or feeling; acute pain or pleasure.

4. High, or shrill, in respect to some other sound; -- opposed to grave or low; as, an acute tone or accent.

5. (Med.) Attended with symptoms of some degree of severity, and coming speedily to a crisis; -- opposed to chronic; as, an acute disease.

Acute angle (Geom.), an angle less than a right angle.

Syn: Subtile; ingenious; sharp; keen; penetrating; sagacious; sharp-witted; shrewd; discerning; discriminating. See Subtile.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Acute \A*cute"\, v. t. To give an acute sound to; as, he acutes his rising inflection too much. [R.]

--Walker.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)