Literary notes about Acute (AI summary)
The word "acute" in literature is employed with remarkable versatility, conveying not only sharp, intense physical or emotional sensations but also a keen mental perception and precise geometric form. For instance, it vividly captures intense suffering or pain seen in descriptions of sudden illnesses [1] and persistent bodily distress [2, 3], while also being used to illustrate a heightened level of mental alertness and discernment in character observations and critical insights [4, 5, 6]. Moreover, its application extends to describing spatial and structural crispness, such as the definition of sharp angles [7, 8] and meticulously detailed botanical features [9, 10, 11]. In this way, "acute" functions as a multifaceted descriptor that enriches both the sensory and intellectual dimensions of a narrative.
- He had had a short illness, there had been a brief time of acute suffering, then all was over.
— from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller - He was pale and sat looking down and continually moving his eyebrows as though trying to control acute pain.
— from The possessed : by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The invalid was suffering with acute pain in the region of the heart, and breathed with great difficulty, having all the ordinary symptoms of asthma.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 by Edgar Allan Poe - Veblen has made an acute observation upon this point.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - He was distinct and acute in conversation, and was soon perfect in understanding and strength.
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson - I could not excuse a man's having more music than love—more ear than eye—a more acute sensibility to fine sounds than to my feelings.
— from Emma by Jane Austen - And how it may be borne, whether in a right line, Or a half circle; or may else be cast Into an angle blunt, if not acute:
— from The Alchemist by Ben Jonson - [Pg 355] The obtuse Angles of the Parallelograms are each of them 101 Degrees and 52 Minutes; the acute ones 78 Degrees and 8 Minutes.
— from Opticks : by Isaac Newton - Leaves opposite, lanceolate, acute, glabrous, obtusely serrate.
— from The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines by T. H. Pardo de Tavera - —A large tree, with leaves opposite, oval, entire, acute, downy.
— from The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines by T. H. Pardo de Tavera - Leaves alternate, ovate, acute, minutely serrate, both surfaces beset with sharp hairs.
— from The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines by T. H. Pardo de Tavera