acute
/'əkju:t/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective:
- Extremely sharp or intense: Used to describe pain, sensations, or feelings that are very severe and sudden.
- Having or demonstrating a keen ability to perceive or distinguish: Describes a person, mind, or observation that is very perceptive, insightful, and sharp.
- Of critical importance and consequence: Describes a situation, shortage, or problem that is severe and urgent.
- Ending in a sharp point: Describes a physical shape that comes to a sharp end.
- Of an angle; less than 90 degrees: A geometric term for an angle smaller than a right angle.
- Having a rapid onset and short but severe course: A medical term describing a disease or condition that appears suddenly and is intense but often short-lived.
- High-pitched; shrill: Describes a sound, especially a voice, that is high and sharp in tone.
Noun:
- A mark (') placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation: In linguistics, a diacritical mark used in some languages to denote a specific sound quality or stress.
Usage Examples
Adjective:
- The patient was suffering from acute pain in his side. (Describing severe, sharp pain.)
- She has an acute understanding of international markets. (Describing a sharp, perceptive mind.)
- The hospital is facing an acute shortage of nurses. (Describing a severe and urgent problem.)
- Be careful with the acute tip of the needle. (Describing a sharp point.)
- An acute angle measures less than 90 degrees. (Describing a type of angle.)
- He was diagnosed with acute bronchitis. (Describing a sudden, severe illness.)
- The child's acute scream made everyone turn around. (Describing a high-pitched sound.)
Noun:
- In French, the letter 'é' has an acute accent. (Referring to the diacritical mark.)
Advanced Usage
"Acute care": A branch of secondary health care where a patient receives active but short-term treatment for a severe injury or episode of illness.
- After the accident, he was moved to the acute care unit.
"Acute awareness": A state of being highly and sensitively conscious of something.
- The hiker had an acute awareness of the changing weather conditions.
Variants and Related Words
Acutely (adverb): In an acute manner; intensely or sharply.
- She was acutely aware of being watched.
Acuteness (noun): The quality of being acute.
- The acuteness of his hearing was remarkable.
Synonyms
- Adjective: Sharp, intense, severe, keen, perceptive, critical, piercing, shrewd.
- Noun: Accent, diacritic, diacritical mark.
Antonyms
- Adjective: Dull, mild, chronic (in medical contexts), obtuse (for angles), low-pitched (for sound).
Related Phrases
Acute stress: Intense psychological stress following a traumatic event.
- The soldiers experienced acute stress after the battle.
Acute phase: The initial, most severe stage of an illness or reaction.
- The medication is most effective during the acute phase of the infection.
Adjective
- of critical importance and consequence
- an acute (or critical) lack of research funds
- ending in a sharp point
- of an angle; less than 90 degrees
- 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
- extremely sharp or intense
- acute pain
- felt acute annoyance
- intense itching and burning
- having or experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe course
- acute appendicitis
- the acute phase of the illness
- acute patients
Noun
- a mark (') placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation