acute
adj.adj. describing a problem or feeling that is very strong, sharp, or serious. It can also describe a physical sense, like hearing, that is very good at noticing small details.
adj. characterised by severity or intensity; having a sudden onset and short duration in a medical context. Often describes highly developed physical senses or sharp intellectual perception.
The patient is experiencing acute pain in her lower back.
The housing shortage has become acute in recent months, forcing many families to move further away from the city center.
While some symptoms of the illness are mild and chronic, the acute phase requires immediate clinical intervention to prevent permanent tissue damage.
From Late Middle English acute (“of a disease or fever: starting suddenly and lasting for a short time; of a humour: irritating, sharp”), from Latin acūta, from acūtus (“sharp, sharpened”), perfect passive participle of acuō (“to make pointed, sharpen, whet”), from acus (“needle, pin”). The word is cognate to ague (“acute, intermittent fever”). As regards the noun, which is derived from the verb, compare Middle English acūte (“severe but short-lived fever; of blood: corrosiveness, sharpness; musical note of high pitch”).
Often follows a linking verb or sits before a noun; in medical contexts, it is the opposite of 'chronic'.
an acute of painacute painAcute is an adjective and cannot be used as a noun to describe the sensation itself.