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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective acute contrast with its synonyms?

The words keen and sharp are common synonyms of acute. While all three words mean "having or showing alert competence and clear understanding," acute implies a power to penetrate and may suggest subtlety and sharpness of discrimination.

an acute sense of style

In what contexts can keen take the place of acute?

The synonyms keen and acute are sometimes interchangeable, but keen suggests quickness, enthusiasm, and a penetrating mind.

a keen observer of the political scene

When could sharp be used to replace acute?

While in some cases nearly identical to acute, sharp implies quick perception, clever resourcefulness, or sometimes questionable trickiness.

sharp enough to spot a confidence game

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of acute Researchers suggest that this might be linked to their acute circadian attunement to their environment. Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025 The shutdown’s effects are acute for government workers. William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 24 Oct. 2025 In Florida, water temperatures for two to three months exceeded the highs that had caused mass bleaching in past years, the new study says, which sent many corals into acute heat shock and caused rapid tissue loss. Evan Bush, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2025 The new approach delves into differentiation therapy, a treatment that makes acute promyelocytic leukemia highly treatable. Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for acute
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acute
Adjective
  • However, people who are lactose intolerant or sensitive to dairy may experience discomfort.
    Chelsea Rae Bourgeois, Health, 29 Oct. 2025
  • The key to detecting them, then, wasn’t to simply build a detector sensitive enough to see each individual neutrino; that would be a practically impossible task.
    Big Think, Big Think, 28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The plot unfolds at the urgent but erratic pace of a life-altering business deal, as Bonitzer unfussily steers us through a series of small rooms as people scramble to determine the proper thing to do with Schiele’s painting.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 29 Oct. 2025
  • To Trump, of course, gutting the Civil Rights Act is likely to be a point of pride, enabling the government to focus on more urgent matters, such as protecting white students from the purportedly harmful effects of diversity-equity-and-inclusion programs.
    Eyal Press, New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The intense taste and smell can make this tonic hard to stomach.
    Kathleen Ferraro, Verywell Health, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Part of what spurred intense interest, according to sources, was the success of Weapons, Zach Cregger’s summer horror hit.
    Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Although nothing is imminent, club sources say the hierarchy are keen to find a successor and have held talks with a number of candidates.
    Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Shouse says that touring with Frehley was a chance to see the guitarist’s keen sense of humor up close.
    Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Gómez took the 5-day trip to Mexico City as a brief respite before starting intensive training to care for Noah at his home in New York City.
    Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
  • And the side hustle is time-intensive.
    Megan Sauer, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Need a hearty soup that's quick, tasty, and healthy this season?
    Nellah Bailey McGough, Southern Living, 30 Oct. 2025
  • This can be a quick way to improve your fiber intake without planning every meal.
    Merve Ceylan, Health, 29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The rebound in corporate profitability was largely helped by Beijing’s policies aimed at curtailing fierce price competition across industrial sectors, at a time when deflation in producer prices stretched into its third year.
    Anniek Bao, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2025
  • The eyewall generally produces the fiercest winds and heaviest rainfall, according to Deanna Hence, a professor of climate, meteorology and atmospheric sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
    NPR, NPR, 27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • In general, acting quickly is key since the pain can be sharp and overwhelming within the first few seconds.
    Taryn White, Travel + Leisure, 29 Oct. 2025
  • The negligible homicide case is seen through the strongest of microscopes, bringing flashbacks of the backstory into sharp focus as questions about faith and the human psyche soon arise.
    Michael Lee Simpson, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Acute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acute. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.

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