acute
acute
adjective
/əˈkjuːt/
1 very serious or severe
There is an acute shortage of water.
acute pain
the world’s acute environmental problems
Competition for jobs is acute.
The scandal was an acute embarrassment for the President.
He was suffering from acute chest pains.
2 an acute illness is one that has quickly become severe and dangerous
acute appendicitis
OPPOSITE chronic
TOPICS Health problems C1
3 ​describing or designed for patients suffering from an acute illness
acute patients
an acute ward
4 (of the senses) very sensitive and well developed
SYNONYM keen
Dogs have an acute sense of smell.
5 intelligent and quick to notice and understand things
He is an acute observer of the social scene.
Her judgement is acute.
6 ​usually before noun (geometry) (of an angle) less than 90°
COMPARE obtuse
Word Origin
late Middle English (describing a disease or its symptoms): from Latin acutus, past participle of acuere ‘sharpen’, from acus ‘needle’.