Acuity
noun
The ability to see, hear, or understand something easily.
He was known for his acuity in sensing a business opportunity.
Often appears as...
- mental acuity
- visual acuity
noun
A person's capacity to decide, understand, or learn quickly, normally used in medical context.
The motor coordination and mental acuity of the patient were first measured.
Often appears as...
- high acuity
- increased acuity
Usage tips
Technical
Medical
noun
The measurement of sharpness of a person's vision.
She went to the optometrist to have her visual acuity tested.
Often appears as...
- visual acuity test
- improve visual acuity
Usage tips
Technical
Technical
noun
The ability to see, hear, or understand something easily.
He was known for his acuity in sensing a business opportunity.
Often appears as...
- mental acuity
- visual acuity
noun
A person's capacity to decide, understand, or learn quickly, normally used in medical context.
The motor coordination and mental acuity of the patient were first measured.
Often appears as...
- high acuity
- increased acuity
Usage tips
Technical
Medical
noun
The measurement of sharpness of a person's vision.
She went to the optometrist to have her visual acuity tested.
Often appears as...
- visual acuity test
- improve visual acuity
Usage tips
Technical
Technical
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Beyond Sensory
Acuity also means quickness and cleverness in understanding or insight, not just sensory sharpness.
Her acuity in solving complex problems made her an excellent detective.
Pro Tip 2/3Figurative Use
Used metaphorically, acuity can describe a situation or idea's clarity, not only a person's ability.
The financial report's acuity allowed investors to quickly grasp the risks.
Pro Tip 3/3Neutral Tone
'Acuity' is a neutral term, often used in both formal and informal settings without an emotional charge.
You'll need acuity to understand the implications of this policy change.
Compare with
acuteclaritydiscernmentkeensensitivitysharp
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Video examples
How a dragonfly's brain...
we were able to see that the neurons of the dragonfly fired when we moved the target in one direction but not the other. Now, why is that? Remember when I said that the dragonfly had near 360-degree vision. Well, there's a section of the eye called the fovea and this is the part that has the sharpest visual acuity,
Video examples
Charles Hazlewood:...
of an elite, talented body. And yet, ladies and gentlemen, every single one of us on this planet probably engages with music on a daily basis. And if I can broaden this out for a second, I'm willing to bet that every single one of you sitting in this room would be happy to speak with acuity, with total confidence,
Video examples
How art can help you...
Those skills are useful. Those skills can save lives. Doctors, nurses, and law enforcement agents can use painting, sculpture, and photography as tools to improve their visual acuity and communication skills, which are critical during investigations and emergencies. If you're treating an injury,
Video examples
Trusting the ensemble -...
body and yet ladies and gentlemen every single one of us on this planet probably engages with music on a daily basis and if I can broaden this out for a second I'm willing to bet that every single one of you sitting in this room would be happy to speak with acuity with total
Video examples
Wade Davis: The...
But the corollary of that is that, if we all are brothers and sisters and share the same genetic material, all human populations share the same raw human genius, the same intellectual acuity. And so whether that genius is placed into -- technological wizardry
Video examples
Henry Evans and Chad...
With this drone setup, we show the potential for bedridden people to once again be able to explore the outside world, and robotics will eventually provide a level playing field where one is only limited by their mental acuity and imagination,
Video examples
Dave Eggers: 2008 TED...
I had no mental acuity to speak of during the day, but I had flexible hours. In the Brooklyn neighborhood that I lived in, Park Slope, there are a lot of writers -- it's like a very high per capita ratio of writers to normal people.
Video examples
Gever Tulley: 5...
the frontal and parietal lobes, which have to do with visual acuity, 3D understanding, and structural problem solving, so it helps develop their visualization skills and their predictive ability.
Video examples
Eye vs. camera - Michael...
because your brain fills it in from context. Also, the edges of our retinas have relatively few receptors for any wavelength light. So our visual acuity and ability to see color
Video examples
Pawan Sinha on how...
So, we modified the optics of the camera in order to mimic the baby's visual acuity. As some of you might know, babyies are born pretty much legally blind.
Video examples
How a dragonfly's brain...
we were able to see that the neurons of the dragonfly fired when we moved the target in one direction but not the other. Now, why is that? Remember when I said that the dragonfly had near 360-degree vision. Well, there's a section of the eye called the fovea and this is the part that has the sharpest visual acuity,
Video examples
Charles Hazlewood:...
of an elite, talented body. And yet, ladies and gentlemen, every single one of us on this planet probably engages with music on a daily basis. And if I can broaden this out for a second, I'm willing to bet that every single one of you sitting in this room would be happy to speak with acuity, with total confidence,
Video examples
How art can help you...
Those skills are useful. Those skills can save lives. Doctors, nurses, and law enforcement agents can use painting, sculpture, and photography as tools to improve their visual acuity and communication skills, which are critical during investigations and emergencies. If you're treating an injury,
Video examples
Trusting the ensemble -...
body and yet ladies and gentlemen every single one of us on this planet probably engages with music on a daily basis and if I can broaden this out for a second I'm willing to bet that every single one of you sitting in this room would be happy to speak with acuity with total
Video examples
Wade Davis: The...
But the corollary of that is that, if we all are brothers and sisters and share the same genetic material, all human populations share the same raw human genius, the same intellectual acuity. And so whether that genius is placed into -- technological wizardry
Video examples
Henry Evans and Chad...
With this drone setup, we show the potential for bedridden people to once again be able to explore the outside world, and robotics will eventually provide a level playing field where one is only limited by their mental acuity and imagination,
Video examples
Dave Eggers: 2008 TED...
I had no mental acuity to speak of during the day, but I had flexible hours. In the Brooklyn neighborhood that I lived in, Park Slope, there are a lot of writers -- it's like a very high per capita ratio of writers to normal people.
Video examples
Gever Tulley: 5...
the frontal and parietal lobes, which have to do with visual acuity, 3D understanding, and structural problem solving, so it helps develop their visualization skills and their predictive ability.
Video examples
Eye vs. camera - Michael...
because your brain fills it in from context. Also, the edges of our retinas have relatively few receptors for any wavelength light. So our visual acuity and ability to see color
Video examples
Pawan Sinha on how...
So, we modified the optics of the camera in order to mimic the baby's visual acuity. As some of you might know, babyies are born pretty much legally blind.
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Blake Crouch
American Author
I love taking a character and raining holy hell down on them and seeing how they respond, how they react. It's one of the things I do in almost all my books - my protagonist is put through a very stressful situation that tests their strength and their psychological acuity. That's one of the core components of who I am as a writer.
Quote examples
Walter Kirn
American Novelist
To young people born under the weird planet of the SAT, intelligence was equated with agility, with raw acuity. It produced a certain sort of person of which I was a typical specimen: the mental contortionist, able to rise to almost every challenge placed before him, except the challenge of real self-knowledge.
Quote examples
Richard Corliss
American Writer
We all recall what is or was important to us and are astonished when it slips other people's minds. Perhaps we dismiss as irrelevant matters of crucial concern to those we love. That's life as most of us experience it, and which few movies document with such understated acuity as 'Boyhood' does.
Quote examples
Bryce Courtenay
South African Novelist
I watch people get older and lose their intellectual acuity; you lose that sharpness, that cleanness, that brain that you worked so hard on and that you were gifted with and lose the gifts that were given.
Quote examples
Richard Corliss
American Writer
Has any movie captured a moment in social, let alone musical, history with as much acuity and joy as 'A Hard Day's Night'?
Quote examples
Yannick Bisson
I find biking challenges so many aspects of health that are important for longevity, acuity, and mental health.
Quote examples
Deborah Eisenberg
American Writer
I suppose I'm always looking for a sort of acuity of perception either in my characters or about my characters.
Quote examples
Blake Crouch
American Author
I love taking a character and raining holy hell down on them and seeing how they respond, how they react. It's one of the things I do in almost all my books - my protagonist is put through a very stressful situation that tests their strength and their psychological acuity. That's one of the core components of who I am as a writer.
Quote examples
Walter Kirn
American Novelist
To young people born under the weird planet of the SAT, intelligence was equated with agility, with raw acuity. It produced a certain sort of person of which I was a typical specimen: the mental contortionist, able to rise to almost every challenge placed before him, except the challenge of real self-knowledge.
Quote examples
Richard Corliss
American Writer
We all recall what is or was important to us and are astonished when it slips other people's minds. Perhaps we dismiss as irrelevant matters of crucial concern to those we love. That's life as most of us experience it, and which few movies document with such understated acuity as 'Boyhood' does.
Quote examples
Bryce Courtenay
South African Novelist
I watch people get older and lose their intellectual acuity; you lose that sharpness, that cleanness, that brain that you worked so hard on and that you were gifted with and lose the gifts that were given.
Quote examples
Richard Corliss
American Writer
Has any movie captured a moment in social, let alone musical, history with as much acuity and joy as 'A Hard Day's Night'?
Quote examples
Yannick Bisson
I find biking challenges so many aspects of health that are important for longevity, acuity, and mental health.
Quote examples
Deborah Eisenberg
American Writer
I suppose I'm always looking for a sort of acuity of perception either in my characters or about my characters.
Example 1 of 7
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