Acute

Technical Practical self systems psychology health

Etymology

From Latin acutus, "sharpened," the past participle of acuere, "to sharpen," which comes from acus, "needle." The image is of something pointed and intense. Medicine applies it to symptoms or illnesses with a rapid, sharp onset. The same root gives us "acute angle" and the sense of "acute hearing" — keen and sharp.

adjective · /uh-KYOOT/
Coming on sharply and severely but lasting only a short time.
What it names
The kind of health problem that demands immediate attention now, as distinct from one that quietly persists for years.
Example
The sudden chest pain was treated as an acute emergency rather than a lingering complaint.
Related idea
Chronic is the long, slow counterpart to acute’s sharp, short intensity.
adjective · /uh-KYOOT/
Having sharp perception or keen insight; also, of a sense, highly sensitive.
What it names
Mental or sensory sharpness — 'an acute observer,' 'an acute sense of smell' — distinct from the medical sense of a sudden, severe illness.
Example
Her acute reading of the negotiation let her spot the bluff at once.
Related idea
Close to astute: acute perception is keenness of sense or insight — 'an acute observer,' 'an acute sense of smell' — rather than the medical sense of a sudden, severe illness.
adjective · /uh-KYOOT/
In geometry, describing an angle of less than 90 degrees.
What it names
The ‘narrow, sharp’ class of angle — the pointed kind, opposite the wide obtuse angle.
Example
An equilateral triangle has three acute angles.
Related idea
This is the literal ‘sharp, pointed’ meaning (Latin "acutus") applied to geometry — the same sharpness that, figuratively, gives ‘acute’ its senses of sharp pain and sharp perception.