It first entered the English language with a medical sense, referring to the sharpness or severity of a symptom. It retains this meaning today, but can also refer to the severity of more general matters, …

ACUTE definition: 1. If a bad situation is acute, it causes severe problems or damage: 2. An acute pain or illness…. Learn more.

ACUTE definition: sharp or severe in effect; intense. See examples of acute used in a sentence.

1. sharp or severe in effect; intense: acute pain. 2. extremely great or serious: an acute shortage of oil. 3. (of disease) brief and severe (disting. from chronic). 4. penetrating in intellect, insight, or …

Definition of acute adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. very serious or severe. There is an acute shortage of water. Competition for jobs is acute. The scandal was an acute …

An acute illness is one that becomes severe very quickly but does not last very long. Compare chronic.

Acute, penetrating, shrewd imply a keenness of understanding, perception, or insight. Acute suggests particularly a clearness of perception and a realization of related meanings: an acute intellect.

Use the adjective acute for when you want to describe something as sharp or extremely serious. The word acute is one word; it's not two words, nor does it have anything to do with something small, …

ACUTE meaning: 1 : very serious or dangerous requiring serious attention or action; 2 : having or showing an ability to think clearly and to understand what is not obvious or simple about something

The words keen and sharp are common synonyms of acute. While all three words mean "having or showing alert competence and clear understanding," acute implies a power to penetrate and may …