acutea‧cute /əˈkjuːt/ ●○○ adjective 
The housing shortage is more acute than first thought.► see thesaurus at serious2feeling an acute feeling is very strong: acute pain acute embarrassment acute anxiety3illness technical an acute illness or disease quickly becomes very serious OPP chronic: acute arthritis4senses acute senses such as hearing, taste, touch etc are very good and sensitive: Young children have a particularly acute sense of smell.5intelligent quick to notice and understand things SYN sharp: Simon’s vague manner concealed an acute mind. an acute analysis of Middle Eastern politics6mathematics technical an acute angle is less than 90°7punctuation an acute accent (=a mark used to show pronunciation) is a small mark written above a vowel. In ‘café’, the letter ‘e’ has an acute accent.—acuteness noun [uncountable]
WORD ORIGINacute
Origin:
1300-1400 Latin past participle of acuere ‘to sharpen’, from acus ‘needle’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- acute tuberculosis
- De Tocqueville was an acute observer of American ways.
- In San Diego, the shortage of skilled workers is acute.
- Nowhere is the problem more acute than Los Angeles County, where gang-related homicide is on the increase.
- Patients suffering from acute depression may well need medication.
- Patients with acute lower back pain often do well with bed rest and painkillers.
- She was taken to the hospital suffering from acute appendicitis.
- Simmons' book is an acute analysis of Middle Eastern history.
- Solving the problem will require acute perception and subtle communication.
- The impact of the problem has been especially acute in New England.
- There are acute shortages of food and medical equipment.
- Boston employers are facing an acute labour shortage with potentially serious consequences for economic growth.
- I suffered a dislocation as acute as when I arrived in this country.
- It was seen as particularly acute in June for S4 pupils.
- The more serious effects include acute confusional states, tachycardia, urinary retention, and aggravation of glaucoma.
- The problem is less acute with phrases and sentences because there the speaker or writer is more fully on his own.
- There are no studies on the effect of acute alcohol intake on gastric secretion in the chronic alcoholic patient.
THESAURUSvery bad
very bad – used about problems, accidents, illnesses, or crimes: · Violent crime is a serious problem in and around the capital.· The boy was taken to hospital with serious head injuries.· Fortunately, the damage to the car was not serious.
very serious – used about problems, injuries, and illnesses: · He suffered severe injuries in a car crash.· The problem became so severe that they had to bring water in from other countries.· severe epilepsy
used about a situation that is very serious and worrying, especially because it is dangerous or seems likely to get worse: · A thick fog descended and I knew that we were in grave danger.· The situation is grave – war now seems inevitable.
used about an illness, problem, or situation that has become very serious or dangerous, and needs to be dealt with quickly: · She was taken to the hospital suffering from acute appendicitis.· In San Diego, the shortage of skilled workers is acute.
used about a situation or problem that is very serious or dangerous, especially because a lot of people need urgent help: · The situation is desperate – people here need aid before the harsh winter sets in.· The hospital is full of people in desperate need of medical attention.
used about a situation that is very serious and dangerous and might get worse suddenly: · In 1991, the food supply situation became critical.· Eight people were killed and four are still in a critical condition.
used about a situation, illness, or condition in which someone could die: · Her child had a potentially life-threatening illness.· The situation was not life-threatening, but it was very worrying.
spoken to be extremely serious – used when a situation is very urgent or important: · For people living with HIV, getting the right treatment is literally a matter of life and death.
Longman Language Activatorwhen a situation, problem accident etc is bad very bad - use this about problems, accidents, illnesses, or crimes: · The recent storms have caused serious damage.· The climbers got into serious difficulties and had to be air-lifted to safety.· In the last two weeks, the situation has become more serious, with riots and strikes spreading across the country.· Violent crime is a serious problem in and around the capital.· The boy was taken to hospital with serious head injuries.
a problem, illness, or accident that is bad is severe, and makes you feel worried: · The pain was really bad.· Paul's off work - he's got a bad cold.· Judy had been in a bad car crash several years before, and was still too nervous to drive.things are bad (=a situation is bad) spoken: · Things are bad in York - some people's houses have been flooded three times.
formal a grave situation or mistake is very serious and worrying because people are in danger and because the situation seems likely to get worse: · The situation is grave -- war now seems inevitable.· The ambassador declared that there would be grave consequences if the hostages were not released.grave danger: · A thick fog descended on the mountain, and I knew that we were in grave danger.grave risk: · There was a grave risk that the operation would leave him partly paralysed.grave mistake/error: · "It would be a grave mistake," said the president, "to ignore the problem, and pretend that it will go away."
a critical situation is very serious and dangerous and might get worse very suddenly - use this especially when people will die if it does not improve: · The situation is said to be critical and the army has been brought in to disperse the mob.· Things are now critical. Hospitals have no medicine, and people are running out of food.be in a critical conditionBritish /be in critical condition American (=so ill or badly injured that you could die): · Eight people were killed and four are still in a critical condition.
a desperate situation or problem is very serious or dangerous, and it does not seem possible that it will improve - use this especially when people will die if it does not improve: · Refugees on the border are living in appalling conditions with desperate shortages of food, medicine and water.· The situation was desperate. The enemy were now only a mile away.be in desperate need of something: · The hospital is full of people in desperate need of medical attention.
an acute illness, problem, or situation is one that has become very serious or dangerous, and needs to be dealt with quickly: · She was taken to the hospital suffering from acute appendicitis.· Patients suffering from acute depression may well need medication.· Nowhere is the problem more acute than Los Angeles County, where gang-related homicide is on the increase.· In San Diego, the shortage of skilled workers is acute.
a situation or piece of news that is grim is serious and unpleasant, and people think it will not get better: · The situation is grim for the innocent people, caught up in this conflict.· Rescue workers are continuing the grim task of searching for bodies.grim news: · The next few weeks brought more grim news, as the economic crisis began to deepen. grim prospect (=something bad that will probably happen): · Two thousand car workers face the grim prospect of redundancy.things look grim (=the situation seems grim): · Things look pretty grim for farmers at the moment.
spoken use this to say that something is serious and not something you should joke about: · Getting up for work at 5am every day is no laughing matter, especially in winter.· English teachers often joked that they could not pass the exam, but for the students it was no laughing matter.
if a situation is a matter of life and death , it is very serious, and what you do will affect whether the situation ends well or not - use this especially when it is possible that someone will die: · People grow their own food, and the success of their harvest is literally a matter of life or death.· In this town football isn't just a game - it's a matter of life and death.
informal if you say that a situation or event is no joke , it is difficult or unpleasant: · It's no joke if you have an accident in the mountains -- it's fifty miles to the nearest hospital.· Crossing the road was no joke with all the early morning traffic.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY acute pain Young children have a particularly acute sense of smell.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1problem an acute problem is very serious: acute pain Young children have a particularly acute sense of smell.· The patient's panic attacks are caused by acute anxiety.
(=very strong dislike) His colleagues regarded him with intense dislike.
His colleagues regarded him with intense dislike. (=very strong and not lasting very long)· There was a moment of acute embarrassment when we realized people were watching.
(=extremely severe and important)· Her memoirs were an acute embarrassment to the president.
· My hearing isn't as good as it used to be.· Owls and other predatory birds have very acute hearing.
(=becoming serious very quickly)· A lot of illnesses can be either acute or chronic.
medical (=a serious infection that develops suddenly)· The disease usually occurs as an acute infection of the throat.
· Pigs have a keen sense of smell.
(=very bad)· They were suffering because of an acute shortage of doctors and nurses.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· I suffered a dislocation as acute as when I arrived in this country.· But while cynics often serve as acute commentators, they seldom make for effective organizational leaders.
· The dilemma facing the parents of a seriously ill child was especially acute.· And the overlap could be especially acute in this deal, because both companies are major producers of missiles and radar.· Upper respiratory tract infections, especially acute otitis media, are the most important determinants for the development of an effusion.· This may become an especially acute problem for a newly installed revolutionary regime, for example the Soviet Union.· It is an especially acute problem when we consider party elites, since they are Janus-faced.· These are especially acute where a substantial private company is being acquired in a Reverse or Super Class One transaction.
· The problem is less acute in specialist fields identified to one particular agency.· The problem is less acute with phrases and sentences because there the speaker or writer is more fully on his own.· In botany the theoretical debate was less acute, although the prospect for the practical application of scientific knowledge was greater.
· These differences are perhaps more acute on an intellectual level than in reality.· After two thousand years, the problem is more acute now than it was in the time of Rome.· For display through a television, one image needs about 800 kilobytes, making the storage problem even more acute.· Meanwhile, the internal situation was becoming more acute for the Herrera administration.· Without the newcomers many more villages would be ghost villages and the social demoralization would be even more acute.· Hers is clearly a more acute and dismal spiral than his own.· In the middle of a recession this is even more acute.· It was a whole new experience, and at first it made my own feeling of being a fraud even more acute.
· The difficulties are most acute for those associations specialising in short-term accommodation and for those finding housing for refugees and asylum seekers.· To Warthen, the declines of Bochtler and Veras were most acute.· That has now been reduced to 15 and the problem is at its most acute in East Swindon.· The fish's sense of smell is most acute.· The most acute of Derry's housing problems was the Springtown Camp.· It has become standard practice to picture the two cultures as standing in the most acute opposition at that time.· Dissonances are most acute when the dissonant voices are close together.· Identity crises are often most acute when family and marriage identity collapses.
· The situation is particularly acute in remand centres and local prisons.· That responsibility is particularly acute in the Republican race.· The problem is particularly acute for computers.· It was seen as particularly acute in June for S4 pupils.· The problem seemed particularly acute among young gay men and gay men of color.· The problem of remand prisoners, is particularly acute.· These feelings were particularly acute for the branch managers in the securities firms.
· However, the complications created by roots are not so acute when the tree is standing on level land.· After a few days I started to develop backache in the lumbar region so acute that I could hardly move.· There are people who are convinced that the problem is so acute that lasting damage has already been done.· Novelists are weirdos with sensitivities wide-ranging but so acute that they can hardly bear the company of others.· Some have hearing which is so acute that they can detect insects as tiny as a midge up to 60 feet away.
· The oral shield is large and distinctly pentagonal, the proximal angle is often very acute.· One would be a very acute, severe degree of disturbance.
NOUN· Nor do they branch off at acute angles or form perfect oblongs.· Has more yellow on bill than smaller Bewick's Swan, reaching below nostril at an acute angle.· You must have the ability to turn at acute angles at speed and you must be able to stretch and bend.
· Patients taking Ativan and Valium for long periods may suffer acute anxiety when they stop.· He suffered, like Vincent, from depressive attacks, of a kind now seen as indicating acute anxiety neurosis.· It is not and an acute anxiety attack will not harm you.
· It can gum up the intestine or cause acute appendicitis.· True, one can not postpone an operation for acute appendicitis.· In September 1989 I was taken into hospital with the classic symptoms of acute appendicitis.· The tough rugby player at first put the pain of his acute appendicitis down to the after-effects of his stag night.
· The ensuing symptoms are often difficult to distinguish from those of an acute attack of asthma.· Two groups of medications are employed: those used to treat the acute attack and those used prophylactically.· However it is still worth trying one of the following remedies for an acute attack.· In addition, oxygen inhalations are given to abort the acute attacks.· This was the patient who was studied 29 months after his most recent acute attack.· An acute attack of dizziness while doing my sit-ups.· These patients were studied 15, 6, and 4 months after their most recent acute attack.· Is it present constantly, does the sensation wax and wane, or does it come in acute attacks?
· The hour of acute awareness was running out into the usual hopeless analysis of a hopeless situation, the usual emotional slush.
· The numbers of acute beds that a service needs has long been a contentious issue.· Nevertheless, Professor Morgan highlighted concern about whether there was an adequate number of both acute beds and long-term residential places.· Will they have to contract for rehabilitation services separate from the contract for acute beds?· The health sector provides community nursing, long-stay care and day hospital places as well as acute beds.
· Intravenous beta blockade also has a place in acute care in selected patients.· We re licensed as an acute care facility.· In acute care there will be pressure from rapid bed turnover, which emphasises the importance of early preparation for discharge.· Yet we continue to respond with an acute care system of high-technology hospitals and highly trained doctors.· So will closing these hospitals improve acute care?· For many patients, acute care came in county or city general hospitals where patients with contagious diseases were sent.· The structure that I have suggested is sufficiently robust to halt that slide and ensure that acute care remains free throughout.
· In acute diseases it is generally adequate to look only at the symptoms of the acute disease itself.· In addition, samples containing granulomatous lesions from patients with acute disease should be most likely to contain a causative pathogen.· Truelove and Witt's criteria were originally developed to classify acute disease attacks and therefore do not include a category for remission.· Strangles is an acute disease caused by infection with a bacteria called Streptococcus Equi.
· The prospect of Hitler's trial in the aftermath of the failed putsch caused the Bavarian authorities acute embarrassment.· To my acute embarrassment, the children seemed far more interested in meeting some one from television.· Early in her first premiership it caused her a moment of acute embarrassment.· The bust was an acute embarrassment to Curtis who, in 1970, was the anti-smoking lobby's most famous disciple.
· Secondly, share-pushing raised in acute form a problem which bedevils much of civil law.· Most of the conflicts concerning agriculture and amenity also occur in a particularly acute form on the urban fringe.
· As might be expected from the study of mortality data acute health problems are not equally distributed throughout the population.· It appears that for acute health problems older people are little different, in terms of prevalence, from younger age groups.· It is essential that Londoners have the same rights of access to acute health care as their provincial counterparts.· A similar trend is evident for acute health problems.· One source of data about self-reported acute health problems is the General Household Survey.· The relationship is less obvious for acute health problems.
· Three cases of severe acute hepatitis have been reported in association with piroxicam.· Only about 30/-40% of patients with hepatitis B develop clinically apparent acute hepatitis.· Although changes in liver function tests are very rare, three cases of severe acute hepatitis secondary to piroxicam have been reported.· Over half the patients who acquire acute hepatitis C virus infection develop chronic hepatitis.· The reported incidence of acute hepatitis B virus in the general population increased by 37 percent from 1979 to 1989.· Severe acute hepatitis immediately after intravenous amiodarone has been reported four times.
· Patients still need to recuperate but do not need to stay in an acute hospital to do so.· This in turn underpins the move to decentralised care and the stripping away of much that is done in acute hospitals today.· For many patients, irrespective of age, admission to an acute hospital constitutes only one phase of their medical career.· They have demonstrated that it is possible to construct systems of clinical budgeting in acute hospitals.· Little is known about the attitudes of older people towards the services offered by the acute hospital sector.· At the time of his death he was a member of the review team on acute hospital services in Northern Ireland.· These were acute hospitals providing a full range of services to a population of about 100,000 - 150,000.· Those aged 65 + are, therefore, the largest single consumer group of the services provided by acute hospitals.
· However, unless an accident or acute illness was associated with onset, memory problems are likely to confuse the result.· Young physicians, trained in medical school according to an acute illness model, found Carville an unusual place.· Let us look at an example of acute illness that would naturally resolve in time.· If you have built up some experience using the remedies then you will find the 30 an excellent potency for acute illness.· In treating acute illnesses there are only two outcomes to giving the wrong low potency remedy.· They may be impatient, hurried and quick tempered in an acute illness.· The three month limit should cover most acute illnesses, especially if it can be extended when necessary.· Some one might question why acute illness should merit free care while chronic ones should not.
· The rare acute infection shows dyspnoea and violent cough, with white-yellow, occasionally bloody, sputum.· This gave way to an acute infection of the liver, and on 9 February, 1883, he died.· In contrast, an IgG and IgA response to this antigen has been reported in children with acute infection.· In acute infections, there is anaemia and lassitude and occasionally respiratory embarrassment.· Viruses, cancer and acute Infection Viruses attack cells by several distinct routes.· Little is known of the fundamental aspects of the immunology of chronic infection versus acute infection in giardiasis.· Monica Dunnell, Terry's wife, is gradually recovering from an acute infection.
· In this regard, increased plasma renin activity and decreased renal prostaglandin production have been reported in patients with acute liver failure.· Mrs Barnett, 35, suffered acute liver failure after a rare reaction to a drug.· The site of increased resistance in patients with acute liver failure has not been clearly established.· The aetiology of acute liver failure was viral hepatitis in all but one patients.· This may indicate that other factors also play an important role in increasing hepatic venous pressure gradient in acute liver failure.· The present study also shows a high prevalence of ascites in patients with acute liver failure.
· Central nervous system treatment in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: long-term follow-up of patients diagnosed between 1973 and 1985.· Second neoplasms after acute lymphoblastic leukemia in childhood.· Late multifocal gliomas in adolescents previously treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.· Conventional compared with individualized chemotherapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.· Second malignancies in patients treated for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
· This was a drug that would ease the acute pain that crucifixion brought to the victim.· One of the most promising areas to find answers is in the treatment of acute pain.· They may suffer sickness, vomiting or acute pain, but they do not die.· Chronic pain is continuous and unassociated with the physiological responses to acute pain such as sweating and tachycardia.
· Four patients died of acute pancreatitis and its complications.· The values of amylase and lipase activity are significantly elevated in acute pancreatitis and obstruction of the pancreatic duct.· In this study, 43% of patients developed acute pancreatitis.· Iii most cases of acute pancreatitis, the lipase activity Stays elevated longer than amylase activity. 321-328.· The therapeutic implications of the present findings are to be established in acute pancreatitis.· PLA2 has been considered earlier to act mainly as a harmful agent in the pathology of various inflammatory diseases including acute pancreatitis.· In acute pancreatitis, the catalytic activity of PLA2 in serum correlates with the severity of the disease.
· Similarly, there are mild disturbances only of acute phase reactants in chronic viral hepatitis.· Compounds containing aspirin or acetaminophen with or without codeine and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are useful for pain control during the acute phase.· The acute phase response also involves changes in the plasma concentrations of a number of liver synthesised proteins.
· From an observer's point of view this adhoc approach to eternity and salvation poses acute problems of description.· Chronic and acute problems associated with sickle cell anaemia.· Because Britain had been producing nuclear power longer than most other countries, this was a particularly acute problem.· This may become an especially acute problem for a newly installed revolutionary regime, for example the Soviet Union.· It is an especially acute problem when we consider party elites, since they are Janus-faced.
· Furthermore, he had an acute sense of deviation from the norm in any society.· This changeless spell brought an acute sense of temporariness and the feeling of inevitability fading with the dusk.· His acute sense of observation was remarkable, and his pictures show how sensitive he was to his surroundings.· He has an acute sense of priority.· As he did so, he felt a great sadness, an acute sense of loss, filling his entire being.· I had an acute sense of the absence of Alison, of the probably permanent loss of her.· The theory would have to be tested, of course, but the body has an acute sense of self-preservation, you know.· There's an acute sense of having been betrayed or wronged.
· As part of its general consultation process, Greater Glasgow health board consulted in respect of its acute services strategy for Glasgow.· It now seems likely that 65 percent. of acute services could be trust-based by April 1993.
· In both areas there is an acute shortage of expertise at the Garden.· And once again the acute shortage of materials was noticeable.· They acknowledged that there was an acute shortage of nurses throughout the country and concluded that a training scheme should be organised.· The acute shortage of time was a problem that everyone felt.· Although recently the Association has been enabled to take on some 250 full-time archaeologists, there is still an acute shortage.· Will he accept that there is indeed an acute shortage of intensive care beds for children?· There's an acute shortage of good land.· Gedge was determined that the band would release a single, despite an acute shortage of money.
The housing shortage is more acute than first thought.► see thesaurus at serious2feeling an acute feeling is very strong: acute pain acute embarrassment acute anxiety3illness technical an acute illness or disease quickly becomes very serious OPP chronic: acute arthritis4senses acute senses such as hearing, taste, touch etc are very good and sensitive: Young children have a particularly acute sense of smell.5intelligent quick to notice and understand things SYN sharp: Simon’s vague manner concealed an acute mind. an acute analysis of Middle Eastern politics6mathematics technical an acute angle is less than 90°7punctuation an acute accent (=a mark used to show pronunciation) is a small mark written above a vowel. In ‘café’, the letter ‘e’ has an acute accent.—acuteness noun [uncountable]