acute
acute /əkj'uːt/
1 [ADJ]
You can use acute to indicate that an undesirable situation or feeling is very severe or intense.
The report has caused acute embarrassment to the government...
The labour shortage is becoming acute.
= severe
2 [ADJ] ADJ n
An acute illness is one that becomes severe very quickly but does not last very long. Compare chronic. (MEDICAL)
...a patient with acute rheumatoid arthritis.
3 [ADJ]
If a person's or animal's sight, hearing, or sense of smell is acute, it is sensitive and powerful.
In the dark my sense of hearing becomes so acute.
= keen
4 [ADJ]
An acute angle is less than 90°. Compare obtuse angle.
5 [ADJ] ADJ n, n ADJ
An acute accent is a symbol that is placed over vowels in some languages in order to indicate how that vowel is pronounced or over one letter in a word to indicate where it is stressed. You refer to a letter with this accent as, for example, e acute. For example, there is an acute accent over the letter `e' in the French word `café'.
1 [ADJ]
You can use acute to indicate that an undesirable situation or feeling is very severe or intense.
The report has caused acute embarrassment to the government...
The labour shortage is becoming acute.
= severe
2 [ADJ] ADJ n
An acute illness is one that becomes severe very quickly but does not last very long. Compare chronic. (MEDICAL)
...a patient with acute rheumatoid arthritis.
3 [ADJ]
If a person's or animal's sight, hearing, or sense of smell is acute, it is sensitive and powerful.
In the dark my sense of hearing becomes so acute.
= keen
4 [ADJ]
An acute angle is less than 90°. Compare obtuse angle.
5 [ADJ] ADJ n, n ADJ
An acute accent is a symbol that is placed over vowels in some languages in order to indicate how that vowel is pronounced or over one letter in a word to indicate where it is stressed. You refer to a letter with this accent as, for example, e acute. For example, there is an acute accent over the letter `e' in the French word `café'.