Definition of ACUITY

Do you have acuity or sensitivity?

Acuity is nearly synonymous with at least one sense of sensitivity, yet, as is so often the case with closely-related words, there are subtle differences worth observing before you substitute one of these words for the other. Acuity does refer to a form of sensitivity, but it is most often applied to the perceptual senses (as in “visual acuity” or “auditory acuity”). It is also frequently used in reference to the intellect (as in “mental acuity”). Sensitivity has a broader range of meanings than acuity does, including “the capacity of being easily hurt.” It may be used of inanimate objects such as radios (“the sensitivity of the instruments was carefully calibrated”), a context in which acuity is unusual.

Examples of acuity in a Sentence

a worrisome deterioration in the acuity of his hearing over the years

Recent Examples on the Web That with healing also comes loss, because with each passing day, as the acuity and rawness of the loss starts to wear off, so, too, does the memory. — Maya Vijayaraghavan, chicagotribune.com, "My husband died of ALS, but my grief is very much alive," 29 Oct. 2019 The Washington Post reported in July that Mueller's team denied rumors that the then-74-year-old's cognitive acuity was wavering, prompting Democrats to compel him to appear publicly. — Daniel Chaitin, Washington Examiner, "Robert Mueller’s friends think ‘something happened’ to him during Russia investigation: Reporter," 21 Jan. 2020 There, Beasley soaked up Mamba’s message about mental acuity, Mike Singer reports. — Joe Nguyen, The Denver Post, "Broncos vs. Colts — a roundup of Denver’s Week 8 loss to Indianapolis," 28 Oct. 2019 Late March, when your acuity with business affairs is at a peak, could be the best time to address investments or to make a decision about a major purchase. — Tribune Content Agency, oregonlive, "Horoscope for Oct. 17, 2019: Virgo, strike while the iron is hot; Capricorn, fast reflexes for the win," 17 Oct. 2019 Pianist Levit brings considerable intellectual acuity and technical aplomb to this music, which arrives in time for next year’s worldwide celebration of the composer’s 250th birthday. — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, "Best classical albums of 2019: World premieres, historic revivals and enticingly eclectic music," 27 Nov. 2019 Even so, Pavlova’s novel A Double Life shook the Russian literary world when it was published in 1848, earning widespread praise for its revolutionary form and psychological acuity. — Talya Zax, The Atlantic, "The 19th-Century Feminist Novel Pushed Out of the Russian Canon," 5 Nov. 2019 Castro also seemed to allude to speculation about the 76-year-old Biden's mental acuity during an exchange about health care. — Fortune, "Highlights From the Third Democratic Debate," 12 Sep. 2019 At last week’s TED Women conference in Palm Springs, California, TED’s staff once again proved its acuity for scouring the internet for great interstitial videos. — Anne Quito, Quartz at Work, "Energize your meetings with empowering videos like the ones used by TED," 10 Dec. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'acuity.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.