acuminate
/əˈkjuːmɪnət/adjective, verb
acuminate is spelled A-C-U-M-I-N-A-T-E: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 103,949th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, acuminate means “Tapering to a point; pointed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in acuminate?
| Letters | 9: A-C-U-M-I-N-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 12 million words; the 103,949th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is acuminate?
Acuminate appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 103,949th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce acuminate?
- UK /əˈkjuːmɪnət/
As a verb (“To render sharp or keen; to sharpen”): /əˈkjuːmɪneɪt/.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-acuminate_(adj).wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-acuminate_(verb).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of acuminate
- more acuminate comparative
- most acuminate superlative
- accuminate
- acuminates present, singular, he/she/it
- acuminating participle, present
- acuminated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does acuminate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Tapering to a point; pointed.
acuminate leaves, teeth, etc.
- 2
Tapering to a long point in concave manner at its apex.
verb
- 1
To render sharp or keen; to sharpen.
September 17, 1784, William Cowper, letter to the Rev. John Newton To acuminate even despair.
- 2
To end in or come to a sharp point.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Acuminate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense tapering to a point:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does acuminate come from?
First attested in 1611; borrowed from Latin acuminātus, perfect passive participle acuminō (“to sharpen to a point”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).