acuity

/əˈkjuːɪti/

//əˈkjuːɪti// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"acuity" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“acuity” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #36,417. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#36,417
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sharpness or acuteness, as of a needle, wit, etc.

Corpus desk

Index EN-acuity · acuity · English

acuity · rank #36,417 · 8 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #36,417
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH acrobatic

Nearest frequency peer: acrobatic (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “acuity”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “acuity” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

acuity vs acute
67% similar
acuity vs aunty
67% similar
acuity vs amity
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for acuity
PropertyValue
Headwordacuity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈkjuːɪti/
Letters6
Frequency rank#36,417
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “acuity”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).acuitylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “acrobatic” (#36,416), “Adrien” (#36,419), “absorbent” (#36,414). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “acuity” is #36,417. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around acuity (IPA /əˈkjuːɪti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #36,417 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for acuity, with forms such as "accuity", "aciuty", and "acuitty". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "acute", "aunty", "amity", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English acuite, acuyte, from Middle French acuité, from Medieval Latin acuitas, irreg., from Latin acuō (“sharpen”). The correct English form is acuity, spelled A-C-U-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sharpness or acuteness, as of a needle, wit, etc.
  2. 2
    The ability to think, see, or hear clearly.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how acuity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The old woman with dementia lost her mental acuity.
  2. And yet [Ray] Dalio’s acuity prompts an awkward question: how much of Bridgewater’s success comes not from the way it is organized, or any notion of “radical transparency,” but from the boss’s raw investment abilities?

Etymology

From Middle English acuite, acuyte, from Middle French acuité, from Medieval Latin acuitas, irreg., from Latin acuō (“sharpen”).

Synonyms

wisdom

This word in other languages

acuidad(Español)acuité(Français)Schärfe(Deutsch)acuidade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • accuity
  • aciuty
  • acuitty
  • acuityy
  • acuiyt
  • acutiy
  • aucity
  • cauity

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of acuity - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

accuity1aciuty2acuitty1acuityy1acuiyt2acutiy2aucity2cauity2
Edit distance from "acuity"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "acuity"?
"acuity" is spelled A-C-U-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈkjuːɪti/.
What does "acuity" mean?
As a noun, "acuity" means: Sharpness or acuteness, as of a needle, wit, etc.
What words are commonly confused with "acuity"?
"acuity" is commonly confused with "acute", "aunty", "amity". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "acuity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "acuity" is /əˈkjuːɪti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "acuity"?
From Middle English acuite, acuyte, from Middle French acuité, from Medieval Latin acuitas, irreg., from Latin acuō (“sharpen”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "acuity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Adrien#36,419zigzag#36,408verity#36,390talkie#36,368

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

alkyl8 variantsattains8 variantsBarbs8 variantsthang8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list