acute

/əˈkjuːt/

//əˈkjuːt// adj

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

"acute" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“acute” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,091. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,091
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Brief, quick, short.

Corpus desk

Index EN-acute · acute · English

acute · rank #7,091 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,091
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH abused

Nearest frequency peer: abused (-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 “acute”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “acute” 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).

acute vs ate
60% similar
acute vs auto
60% similar
acute vs ante
60% similar

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

Key facts for acute
PropertyValue
Headwordacute
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/əˈkjuːt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,091
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “acute”

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).acutelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “abused” (#7,090), “admiral” (#7,092), “Amanda” (#7,093). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “acute” is #7,091. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around acute (IPA /əˈkjuːt/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #7,091 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for acute, with forms such as "accute", "actue", and "acuet". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ate", "auto", "ante", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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… The correct English form is acute, spelled A-C-U-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Brief, quick, short.
  2. 2
    High or shrill.
  3. 3
    Intense; sensitive; sharp.
  4. 4
    Urgent.
  5. 5
    With the sides meeting directly to form an acute angle (at an apex or base).
  6. 6
    Less than 90 degrees.
  7. 7
    Having all three interior angles measuring less than 90 degrees.
  8. 8
    Of an accent or tone: generally higher than others.
  9. 9
    Sharp, produced in the front of the mouth. (See Grave and acute on Wikipedia.Wikipedia)
  10. 10
    Of an abnormal condition of recent or sudden onset, in contrast to delayed onset; this sense does not imply severity, unlike the common usage.
  11. 11
    Of a short-lived condition, in contrast to a chronic condition; this sense also does not imply severity.
  12. 12
    Of a letter of the alphabet, having an acute accent.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It was an acute event.
  2. Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident. Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-…

Etymology

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”).

This word in other languages

agudo(Español)aigu(Français)scharf(Deutsch)agudo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • accute
  • actue
  • acuet
  • acutte
  • aucte
  • caute

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of acute - 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.

accute1actue2acuet2acutte1aucte2caute2
Edit distance from "acute"

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 "acute"?
"acute" is spelled A-C-U-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈkjuːt/.
What does "acute" mean?
As an adjective, "acute" means: Brief, quick, short.
What words are commonly confused with "acute"?
"acute" is commonly confused with "ate", "auto", "ante". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "acute"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "acute" is /əˈkjuːt/. 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 "acute"?
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, sha... 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 "acute", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

wrist#7,088wheat#7,084Blair#7,099urged#7,079

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

whip6 variantschan6 variantschin6 variantsdash6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list