Definitions
having or experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe course
Word origin
From Late Middle English acute (“of a disease or fever: starting suddenly and lasting for a short time; of a humour: irritating, sharp”), from Latin acūta, from acūtus (“sharp, sharpened”), perfect passive participle of acuō (“to make pointed, sharpen, whet”), from acus (“needle, pin”). The word is cognate to ague (“acute, intermittent fever”).
Used in a sentence
“It was an acute event.”
“an acute accent or tone”
“The nimble Fly's Wings quicker were / Than those of her Competitor [a bee], / As may by this appear; / For an acuter Tone they made, / And in a ſharper Key they play'd, / (Which made the matter clear.)”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Sharp or severe”5 letters
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