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sharp or severe in effect; intense:
acute sorrow; an acute pain.
extremely great or serious; crucial; critical:
an acute shortage of oil.
(of disease) brief and severe (opposed to ).
sharp or penetrating in intellect, insight, or perception:
an acute observer.
extremely sensitive even to slight details or impressions:
acute eyesight.
sharp at the end; ending in a point.
geometry.

(of an angle) less than 90°.
(of a triangle) containing only acute angles.

consisting of, indicated by, or bearing the mark ´, placed over vowel symbols in some languages to show that the vowels or the syllables they are in are pr-nounced in a certain way, as in french that the quality of an e so marked is close; in hungarian that the vowel is long; in spanish that the marked syllable bears the word accent; in ibo that it is pr-nounced with high tones; or in cl-ssical greek, where the mark originated, that the syllable bears the word accent and is pr-nounced, according to the ancient grammarians, with raised pitch (opposed to ):
the acute accent; an acute e.
the acute accent.
adjective
penetrating in perception or insight
sensitive to details; keen
of extreme importance; crucial
sharp or severe; intense: acute pain, an acute drought
having a sharp end or point
(maths)

(of an angle) less than 90°
(of a triangle) having all its interior angles less than 90°

(of a disease)

arising suddenly and manifesting intense severity
of relatively short duration compare chronic (sense 2)

(phonetics)

(of a vowel or syllable in some languages with a pitch accent, such as ancient greek) spoken or sung on a higher musical pitch relative to neighbouring syllables or vowels
of or relating to an accent (´) placed over vowels, denoting that the vowel is pr-nounced with higher musical pitch (as in ancient greek), with a certain special quality (as in french), etc compare (for senses 8a, 8b) grave, circ-mflex

(of a hospital, hospital bed, or ward) intended to accommodate short-term patients with acute illnesses
noun
an acute accent
adj.

late 14c., originally of fevers and diseases, “coming and going quickly” (opposed to a chronic), from latin acutus “sharp, pointed,” figuratively “shrill, penetrating; intelligent, cunning,” past participle of acuere “sharpen” (see acuity). meaning “sharp, irritating” is from early 15c. meaning “intense” is from 1727. related: acutely; acuteness.

acute a·cute (ə-kyōōt’)
adj.

pointed at the end; sharp.

of or relating to a disease or a condition with a rapid onset and a short, severe course.

of or relating to a patient afflicted with such a disease.

acute
(ə-kyt’)

reacting readily to stimuli or impressions, as hearing or eyesight; sensitive.

relating to an illness that has a rapid onset and follows a short but severe course. compare chronic.

having an acute angle.