Synonyms for acute
əˈkyutacute

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. acuteadjective

   Synonyms:
   obtuse

2. acuteadjective

   Antonyms:
   chronic

3. acuteadjective

   To give an acute sound to.

   He acutes his rising inflection too much.

   Synonyms:
   urgent, pressing, sudden, emergent

4. acuteadjective

   sensitive

   Synonyms:
   powerful, strong, intense, sharp, keen

   Antonyms:
   obtuse, witless, slow, dull

5. acuteadjective

   Short, quick.

   It was an acute event.

   Synonyms:
   fast, rapid

   Antonyms:
   slow, leisurely

6. acuteadjective

   Of a triangle, having all three interior angles measuring less than 90 degrees.

   Synonyms:
   acute-angled

   Antonyms:
   obtuse-angled, obtuse

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. acute

   Acute, from the Latin, suggests the sharpness of the needle's point; keen, from the Saxon, the sharpness of the cutting edge. Astute, from the Latin, with the original sense of cunning has come to have a meaning that combines the sense of acute or keen with that of sagacious. The astute mind adds to acuteness and keenness an element of cunning or finesse. The astute debater leads his opponents into a snare by getting them to make admissions, or urge arguments, of which he sees a result that they do not perceive. The acute, keen intellect may take no special advantage of these qualities; the astute mind has always a point to make for itself, and seldom fails to make it. A knowing look, air, etc., in general indicates practical knowledge with a touch of shrewdness, and perhaps of cunning; in regard to some special matter, it indicates the possession of reserved knowledge which the person could impart if he chose. Knowing has often a slightly invidious sense. We speak of a knowing rascal, meaning cunning or shrewd within a narrow range, but of a knowing horse or dog, in the sense of sagacious, implying that he knows more than could be expected of such an animal. A knowing child has more knowledge than would be looked for at his years, perhaps more than is quite desirable, while to speak of a child as intelligent is altogether complimentary.

   Synonyms:
   astute, clear-sighted, crafty, cunning, discerning, discriminating, keen, knowing, penetrating, penetrative, perspicacious, sagacious, sharp, shrewd, subtile, subtle

   Antonyms:
   blind, dull, idiotic, imbecile, shallow, short-sighted, stolid, stupid, undiscerning, unintelligent

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. acute

   Synonyms:
   pointed, penetrating, sagacious, perspicacious, keen, astute, piercing, sharp, shrewd, keen-sighted, severe, distressing

   Antonyms:
   dull, blunt, obtuse, stupid, undiscerning, heavy, chronic, stolid

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. acute accent, acute, agueadjective

   a mark (') placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation

   Synonyms:
   chills and fever, ague, acute accent

   Antonyms:
   dull, noncrucial, pointless, degenerative, unperceptive, obtuse, chronic, noncritical, unperceiving, unpointed

2. acuteadjective

   having or experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe course

   "acute appendicitis"; "the acute phase of the illness"; "acute patients"

   Synonyms:
   keen, penetrating, piercing, knifelike, incisive, penetrative, intense, sharp, needlelike, acuate, discriminating

   Antonyms:
   unperceiving, noncritical, noncrucial, obtuse, dull, unpointed, unperceptive, degenerative, chronic, pointless

3. acute, intenseadjective

   extremely sharp or intense

   "acute pain"; "felt acute annoyance"; "intense itching and burning"

   Synonyms:
   keen, penetrating, vivid, piercing, knifelike, incisive, penetrative, intense, sharp, needlelike, acuate, discriminating

   Antonyms:
   unperceptive, noncritical, obtuse, unpointed, pointless, chronic, unperceiving, degenerative, noncrucial, dull

4. acute, discriminating, incisive, keen, knifelike, penetrating, penetrative, piercing, sharpadjective

   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"

   Synonyms:
   intense, penetrative, discriminating, shrill, neat, sharp, shrewd, lancinating, nifty, sharp-worded, not bad(p), bang-up, astute, incisive, acuate, dandy, tart, smashing, cutting, bully, precipitous, needlelike, slap-up, abrupt, keen, lancinate, knifelike, corking, exquisite, groovy, great, piercing, penetrating, swell, cracking, crisp, stabbing, peachy

   Antonyms:
   noncritical, noncrucial, pointless, unperceptive, degenerative, unperceiving, obtuse, chronic, unpointed, dull

5. acuteadjective

   of an angle; less than 90 degrees

   Synonyms:
   keen, penetrating, piercing, knifelike, incisive, penetrative, intense, sharp, needlelike, acuate, discriminating

   Antonyms:
   noncrucial, chronic, unperceptive, unperceiving, unpointed, dull, obtuse, pointless, degenerative, noncritical

6. acuate, acute, sharp, needlelikeadjective

   ending in a sharp point

   Synonyms:
   abrupt, shrill, astute, sharp, incisive, shrewd, knifelike, crisp, keen, needlelike, precipitous, discriminating, tart, sharp-worded, acuate, penetrating, piercing, intense, penetrative

   Antonyms:
   degenerative, unperceptive, obtuse, chronic, pointless, dull, unpointed, noncritical, noncrucial, unperceiving

7. acuteadjective

   of critical importance and consequence

   "an acute (or critical) lack of research funds"

   Synonyms:
   keen, penetrating, piercing, knifelike, incisive, penetrative, intense, sharp, needlelike, acuate, discriminating

   Antonyms:
   obtuse, degenerative, noncrucial, dull, noncritical, pointless, unpointed, chronic, unperceptive, unperceiving

Matched Categories

1. • Medicine

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. acuteadjective

   Synonyms:
   sharp, pointed, ACUMINATED, CUSPIDATED

2. acuteadjective

   Synonyms:
   keen, shrewd, discerning, knowing, quick, sharp, smart, bright, sage, sapient, sagacious, intelligent, astute, ingenious, subtle, penetrating, piercing, clear-sighted, sharp-witted, long-headed, UP TO SNUFF

3. acuteadjective

   Synonyms:
   severe, violent, intense, poignant, exquisite, pungent

4. acuteadjective

   Synonyms:
   high, shrill, high-toned

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "acute":

   agudo, sharp, serious, severe, treble, acutely, aguda, pressing, grave, urgent, tweeter, short-lived, assets, keen, extreme

Concise Medical Dictionary, by Joseph C Segen, MDRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ACUTE

   Synonyms:
   (1) Analysis of Coronary Ultrasound Thrombolysis Endpoints in Acute Myocardial Infarction,, (2) Assessment of Cardioversion Utilizing Transesophageal Echocardiography

Suggested Resources

1. Acute

   Chronic vs. Acute -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Chronic and Acute.

How to pronounce acute?

How to say acute in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use acute in a sentence?

1. Giuseppe Lippi:

   Heavy alcohol consumption must always be avoided, not only for the risk of cardiovascular disease, but also because it causes acute injury to the liver and to the central nervous system, moreover, especially with binge drinking, the risk of car accidents increases by many folds.

2. Randall Moore:

   If it's an acute problem, even though telemedicine doesn't have the completeness of being in person, the value is exponentially higher.

3. Manny Alvarez:

   I think it is quite clear that on the medical level… that this could endanger the newborn as well as the mother, if you look statistically, for example, at home births versus births that are done under clinical supervision, there’s a difference in outcomes, and if you’re not ready for an acute emergency during delivery [that] is when a baby can get damaged or a mother could get hurt.

4. Pat Toomey:

   We've got very acute problems within certain employment groups, right? People who work for restaurants and hotels and travel and entertainment -- devastated, but we do not have a global macroeconomic depression underway at all. So it makes no sense to be sending this out to everybody who has a pulse.

5. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dr. John H. Watson, referring to Sherlock Holmes, in "A Scandal in Bohemia":

   The stage lost a fine actor, just as science lost an acute reasoner, when he became a specialist in crime.