having or experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe course; acute appendicitis; the acute phase of the illness; acute patients'

of an angle; less than 90 degrees

a mark () placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation

[ Syn: acute accent , ague ]

extremely sharp or intense; acute pain; felt acute annoyance; intense itching and burning

[ Syn: intense ]

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

[ Syn: discriminating , incisive , keen , knifelike , penetrating , penetrative , piercing , sharp ]

ending in a sharp point

[ Syn: acuate , sharp , needlelike ]

of critical importance and consequence; an acute (or critical) lack of research funds'