acute

acute
    adj 1: having or experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe
           course; "acute appendicitis"; "the acute phase of the
           illness"; "acute patients" [ant: {chronic}]
    2: extremely sharp or intense; "acute pain"; "felt acute
       annoyance"; "intense itching and burning" [syn: {acute},
       {intense}]
    3: 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: {acute},
       {discriminating}, {incisive}, {keen}, {knifelike},
       {penetrating}, {penetrative}, {piercing}, {sharp}]
    4: of an angle; less than 90 degrees [ant: {obtuse}]
    5: ending in a sharp point [syn: {acuate}, {acute}, {sharp},
       {needlelike}]
    6: of critical importance and consequence; "an acute (or
       critical) lack of research funds"
    n 1: a mark (') placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation
         [syn: {acute accent}, {acute}, {ague}]
    

Acute \A*cute"\, a. [L. acutus, p. p. of acuere to sharpen, fr.
   a root ak to be sharp. Cf. {Ague}, {Cute}, {Edge}.]
   1. Sharp at the end; ending in a sharp point; pointed; --
      opposed to {blunt} or {obtuse}; as, an acute angle; an
      acute leaf.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Having nice discernment; perceiving or using minute
      distinctions; penetrating; clever; shrewd; -- opposed to
      {dull} or {stupid}; as, an acute observer; acute remarks,
      or reasoning.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Having nice or quick sensibility; susceptible to slight
      impressions; acting keenly on the senses; sharp; keen;
      intense; as, a man of acute eyesight, hearing, or feeling;
      acute pain or pleasure.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. High, or shrill, in respect to some other sound; --
      opposed to {grave} or {low}; as, an acute tone or accent.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. (Med.) Attended with symptoms of some degree of severity,
      and coming speedily to a crisis; -- opposed to {chronic};
      as, an acute disease. AS
      [1913 Webster]

   {Acute angle} (Geom.), an angle less than a right angle.
      [1913 Webster]

   Syn: Subtile; ingenious; sharp; keen; penetrating; sagacious;
        sharp-witted; shrewd; discerning; discriminating. See
        {Subtile}.
        [1913 Webster]
    

Acute \A*cute"\, v. t.
   To give an acute sound to; as, he acutes his rising
   inflection too much. [R.] --Walker.
   [1913 Webster]
    

ACUTE
       Airbus Cockpit Universal Thrust Emulator (Airbus, A380)
       
    

284 Moby Thesaurus words for "acute":
      Machiavellian, Machiavellic, absorbing, acanthoid, acanthous,
      accurate, acicular, acrid, active, acuate, aculeate, aculeiform,
      acuminate, afflictive, aggravated, aggressive, agonizing, alert,
      animated, apperceptive, appercipient, arch, argute, artful, astute,
      atrocious, aware, barbed, biting, brisk, cagey, canny, clamorous,
      clever, climacteric, cogent, compelling, cornuted, crafty,
      cramping, creaky, critical, crucial, cruel, crying, cunning,
      cusped, cuspidate, cute, cutting, dangerous, deceitful, deep,
      deep-felt, deep-laid, deepgoing, designing, desperate, diplomatic,
      dire, discerning, discriminating, distressing, double-edged,
      drastic, dynamic, ear-piercing, edged, energetic, enterprising,
      enthusiastic, excessive, excruciating, exigent, exorbitant,
      exquisite, extravagant, extreme, farseeing, farsighted,
      featheredged, feline, fierce, fine, forceful, forcible, foreseeing,
      foresighted, forethoughted, forethoughtful, foxy, full of pep,
      furious, gnawing, go-go, grave, great, griping, guileful, hard,
      harrowing, harsh, hazardous, heartfelt, hearty, high,
      high-pressure, high-priority, hispid, homefelt, horned, horny,
      howling, hurtful, hurting, immoderate, imperative, imperious,
      impetuous, incisive, indelible, ingenious, insidious, insightful,
      insistent, instant, intelligent, intemperate, intense, intensified,
      inventive, keen, keen-edged, keening, kinetic, knifelike, knowing,
      lively, living, longheaded, longsighted, lusty, menacing,
      meticulous, mettlesome, mucronate, narrow, needle-pointed,
      needle-sharp, observant, outrageous, painful, paroxysmal, pawky,
      peaked, peaky, penetrating, peppy, perceptive, percipient,
      perilous, perspicacious, perspicuous, pervading, piercing, piping,
      pivotal, poignant, pointed, politic, precarious, precise, pressing,
      prickly, probing, profound, pronged, provident, pungent,
      quick-witted, racking, razor-edged, ready, reedy, resourceful,
      rigorous, robust, rough, sagacious, scheming, screaky, screeching,
      screechy, sensitive, serious, serpentine, set, severe, shall,
      sharp, sharp-pointed, sharp-sighted, sharp-witted, shifty,
      shooting, shrewd, shrieking, shrieky, shrill, slick, slippery, sly,
      smacking, smooth, snaky, snappy, sneaky, sophistical, spanking,
      spasmatic, spasmic, spasmodic, spiculate, spiked, spiky, spined,
      spinous, spiny, spirited, splitting, squeaking, squeaky, stabbing,
      stealthy, stinging, strategic, strenuous, strong, subtile, subtle,
      sudden, supple, tactical, take-charge, take-over, tapered,
      tapering, thin, threatening, tined, tinny, toothed, tormenting,
      torturous, tough, treble, trenchant, trickish, tricksy, tricky,
      two-edged, ululant, unbated, unconscionable, understanding, urgent,
      vehement, venomous, vibrant, vigorous, violent, virulent,
      vivacious, vivid, vulpine, wailing, wary, whining, whistling, wily,
      wise, zestful, zesty, zippy