acute🔊

Brief, quick, short.

High or shrill.

Intense; sensitive; sharp.

Urgent.

(botany) With the sides meeting directly to form an acute angle (at an apex or base).

(geometry, of an angle) Less than 90 degrees.

(geometry, of a triangle) Having all three interior angles measuring less than 90 degrees.

(linguistics, chiefly historical) Of an accent or tone: generally higher than others.

(phonology, dated, of a sound) Sharp, produced in the front of the mouth.

(medicine) Of an abnormal condition of recent or sudden onset, in contrast to delayed onset; this sense does not imply severity, unlike the common usage.

(medicine) Of a short-lived condition, in contrast to a chronic condition; this sense also does not imply severity.

(orthography) After a letter of the alphabet: having an acute accent.

(medicine, informal) A person who has the acute form of a disorder, such as schizophrenia.

(linguistics, chiefly historical) An accent or tone higher than others.

(orthography) An acute accent (´).

(phonetics) To give an acute sound to.

(archaic) To make acute; to sharpen, to whet.