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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 The implications of this change across Meta’s services could be especially acute for teenagers and young adults, who make up the majority of Instagram’s user base and are increasingly drawn to AI companions. Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025 Doherty, according to Ellis, had an acute interest in psychology and worked for a number of years as a youth counselor in Miami. Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025 Up to June 2026, at least 132,000 children under the age of five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition, including more than 41,000 severe cases of children at heightened risk of death, the IPC added. Soph Warnes, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025 However, the effects were mostly acute and did not have long-lasting impact. Team Verywell Health, Verywell Health, 1 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for acute
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acute
Adjective
  • Options may include topical corticosteroids or nonsteroidal immunomodulators, which are often used on sensitive areas or for long-term control.
    Daryl Austin, USA Today, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Made without parabens, soaps or alcohols, the hypoallergenic wipes are great for all skin types, including sensitive skin.
    Christopher Murray may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom., FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Those lessons are more urgent than ever, as AI takes over tasks but leaves us with the harder, more important work – deciding, judging, being accountable.
    Jim Edwards, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Continue reading … DIGITAL DARKNESS – Taliban plunges Afghanistan into darkness as UN issues urgent warning.
    , FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • During periods of intense rainfall, the risk of flooding increases, particularly in low-lying and flood-prone areas.
    CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 4 Oct. 2025
  • Safdie perceptively locates the protagonist’s troubling inner contradictions—the atavistic fury that drives him to compete and the intense self-control that competition demands—but dramatizes such outer crises as opioid addiction and conflict with his girlfriend (Emily Blunt) only schematically.
    Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • One in particular was slow working, keen nosed, and close ranging.
    Worth Matthewson, Outdoor Life, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Hartwell was not keen on the idea.
    Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Over the next three days, Stafford and Hanton will lead you through an intensive, interactive bushcraft school.
    Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 5 Oct. 2025
  • In India, the government has begun pushing to decarbonize the iron and steel sector, one of the world’s most emissions-intensive industries, driven as much by resource and pollution pressures as by diplomacy.
    Felicia Jackson, Forbes.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Bitcoin is up about 25% this year, rising as more Wall Street institutions embrace the cryptocurrency and global investors begin to view it as a reputable portfolio allocation and not just a quick trading vehicle.
    Fred Imbert, CNBC, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Its silicone design sits comfortably on the face, while quick preset modes make treatments simple to fit into daily life.
    Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • As Auberge continues expanding into urban markets and deepening its European presence, the challenge will be maintaining that fierce independence at scale.
    Ritu Upadhyay, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Rescuers are struggling to reach at least 200 hikers trapped in a Mount Everest valley by an unexpectedly fierce weekend snowstorm that pounded the mountain with snow and heavy rain, according to Chinese state media CCTV.
    Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • To watch Lipe-Smith’s Caroline cuddle in bed watching TV on her iPad, or bopping around to JoJo Siwa, or pensively finishing a Popsicle while sitting beside her grandmother at a museum, is to have the sheer malevolence of our current administration and its adherents thrown into sharp relief.
    Sara Holdren, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2025
  • But Sport mode was always selected soon after, which, besides adding rev-match downshifts and turning off auto stop/start, adds sharp exhaust tones to its deep-bass-induction soundtrack.
    Peter Nelson, Robb Report, 1 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Acute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acute. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

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