different between acute vs poignant
acute
English
Etymology
From Late Middle English ac?te (“of a disease or fever: starting suddenly and lasting for a short time; of a humour: irritating, sharp”), from Latin ac?ta, from ac?tus (“sharp, sharpened”), perfect passive participle of acu? (“to make pointed, sharpen, whet”), from acus (“needle, pin”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?e?- (“sharp”). The word is cognate to ague (“acute, intermittent fever”).
As regards the noun, which is derived from the verb, compare Middle English ac?te (“severe but short-lived fever; of blood: corrosiveness, sharpness; musical note of high pitch”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /??kju?t/
- (General American) enPR: ?-kyo?ot?, IPA(key): /??kjut/
- Rhymes: -u?t
Adjective
acute (comparative acuter or more acute, superlative acutest or most acute)
- Brief, quick, short.
- Synonyms: fast, rapid
- Antonyms: leisurely, slow
- High or shrill.
- Antonym: grave
- Intense, sensitive, sharp.
- Synonyms: keen, powerful, strong
- Antonyms: dull, obtuse, slow, witless
- Urgent.
- Synonyms: emergent, pressing, sudden
- (botany) With the sides meeting directly to form an acute angle (at an apex or base).
- Antonym: obtuse
- (geometry) Of an angle: less than 90 degrees.
- Antonym: obtuse
- (geometry) Of a triangle: having all three interior angles measuring less than 90 degrees.
- Synonym: acute-angled
- Antonyms: obtuse, obtuse-angled
- (linguistics, chiefly historical) Of an accent or tone: generally higher than others.
- (medicine) Of an abnormal condition of recent or sudden onset, in contrast to delayed onset; this sense does not imply severity, unlike the common usage.
- (medicine) Of a short-lived condition, in contrast to a chronic condition; this sense also does not imply severity.
- Antonym: chronic
- (orthography) After a letter of the alphabet: having an acute accent.
Derived terms
Related terms
- ague
Translations
Noun
acute (plural acutes)
- (medicine) A person who has the acute form of a disorder, such as schizophrenia.
- (linguistics, chiefly historical) An accent or tone higher than others.
- Antonym: grave
- (orthography) An acute accent (´).
Translations
Verb
acute (third-person singular simple present acutes, present participle acuting, simple past and past participle acuted)
- (transitive, phonetics) To give an acute sound to.
- (transitive, archaic) To make acute; to sharpen, to whet.
Translations
References
Further reading
- acute (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
- AUTEC, Ceuta
Asturian
Verb
acute
- first/third-person singular present subjunctive of acutar
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /??ky.t?/
Adjective
acute
- Inflected form of acuut.
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a.kyt/
- Homophone: acutes
Adjective
acute
- feminine singular of acut
Interlingua
Adjective
acute (not comparable)
- acute
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a?kute/
Adjective
acute
- feminine plural of acuto
Anagrams
- caute
Latin
Participle
ac?te
- vocative masculine singular of ac?tus
References
- acute in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- acute in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- acute in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
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poignant
English
Etymology
From Middle English poynaunt, poynant, borrowed from Anglo-Norman puignant, poynaunt etc., present participle of poindre (“to prick”), from Latin pung? (“prick”).
Pronunciation
- (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /?p??n.j?nt/, /?p???.?nt/
- (obsolete) IPA(key): /?p??.n?nt/
- Hyphenation: poign?ant (per American Heritage and Random House); poi?gnant (per Merriam-Webster)
Adjective
poignant (comparative more poignant, superlative most poignant)
- (obsolete, of a weapon, etc.) Sharp-pointed; keen.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, VII:
- His siluer shield, now idle maisterlesse; / His poynant speare, that many made to bleed [...].
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, VII:
- Neat; eloquent; applicable; relevant.
- Evoking strong mental sensation, to the point of distress; emotionally moving.
- Synonyms: distressing, moving
- (figuratively, of a smell, taste) Piquant, pungent.
- (figuratively, of a look, word) Incisive; penetrating; piercing.
- (chiefly Britain, dated) Inducing sharp physical pain.
Related terms
- poignancy
- poignantly
Translations
References
- OED 2nd edition 1989
- Webster Third New International 1986
Anagrams
- Paignton
French
Etymology
From Old French poignant, present participle of poindre. Possibly corresponds to Latin pung?ns, pungentem.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pwa.???/
Verb
poignant
- present participle of poindre
- present participle of poigner
Adjective
poignant (feminine singular poignante, masculine plural poignants, feminine plural poignantes)
- poignant
References
Further reading
- “poignant” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Old French
Etymology
Present participle of poindre. Possibly corresponds to Latin pung?ns, pungentem.
Verb
poignant
- present participle of poindre
Adjective
poignant m (oblique and nominative feminine singular poignant or poignante)
- pointed; pointy
Descendants
- ? English: poignant
- French: poignant
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