acuminate

[ adjective uh-kyoo-muh-nit, -neyt; verb uh-kyoo-muh-neyt ]

adjective

1. Botany, Zoology. pointed; tapering to a point.

verb (used with object)

, a·cu·mi·nat·ed, a·cu·mi·nat·ing.

1. to make sharp or keen.

acuminate

adjective

1. narrowing to a sharp point, as some types of leaf

verb

1. tr to make pointed or sharp

Derived Forms

• aˌcumiˈnation, noun

Other Words From

• a·cumi·nation noun
• suba·cumi·nate adjective
• suba·cumi·nation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of acuminate¹

1595–1605; < Latin acūminātus (past participle of acūmināre ), equivalent to acūmin- (stem of acūmen ) acumen + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of acuminate¹

C17: from Latin acūmināre to sharpen; see acumen

Example Sentences

Another species in crisis is the acuminate crayfish, which is unique to Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, experts said, and found largely in the Anacostia watershed.

From Washington Post

Dale’s team has focused on altering Cavendish plants by inserting a gene from the wild banana Musa acuminate malaccensis that confers resistance to TR4.

From Nature

Specifically, he’s trying to turn on a dormant gene in the Cavendish that confers resistance to TR4 — the same gene that he identified in M. acuminate.

From Nature

A series of fortunate events brought me to a floor somewhere in the mid-twenties of London’s most acuminate skyscraper, the 72-storey, 306-metre Shard.

From The Guardian

Leaves large, thin, deeply 3–5-lobed, cordate at the base; the lobes acuminate; drupe an inch long, black when ripe; the shell crested-toothed on the edge of the cavity.—Rich soil, Ky. to S. Ill. and Kan., and southward.

From Project Gutenberg