acuminate

American  

[uh-kyoo-muh-nit, -neyt, uh-kyoo-muh-neyt] / əˈkyu mə nɪt, -ˌneɪt, əˈkyu məˌneɪt /

adjective

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

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verb (used with object)

acuminated, acuminating

1. to make sharp or keen.

acuminate British  

adjective

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

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verb

1. (tr) to make pointed or sharp

Other Word Forms

• acumination noun
• subacuminate adjective
• subacumination noun

Etymology

Origin of acuminate

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

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 • Oct. 22, 2021

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 • Jun. 9, 2014

Leaflets.—Three to nine; lanceolate; acuminate; serrate; two inches or so long; smooth.

From The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits by Parsons, Mary Elizabeth

Leaves narrower, gradually acuminate, finely serrate.—In wet places and along streams, etc.; our most widely distributed and variable species.—S. myricoìdes, Muhl.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

Tapering to a point; pointed; as, acuminate leaves, teeth, etc.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah