Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Tapering gradually to a sharp point, as the tips of certain leaves.
- transitive verb To sharpen or taper.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To bring to a point; render sharp or keen: as, “to acuminate despair,”
- To taper or rise to a point.
- In ichthyology, drawn out in a long point: said of the fins.
- Pointed; acute.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Tapering to a point; pointed
- transitive verb rare To render sharp or keen.
- intransitive verb To end in, or come to, a sharp point.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Tapering to apoint ;pointed . - adjective botany, mycology Tapering to a long point at its
apex . - verb transitive To render
sharp orkeen ; tosharpen . - verb intransitive To
end in or come to a sharp point.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective (of a leaf shape) narrowing to a slender point
- verb make sharp or acute; taper; make (something) come to a point
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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This forest type is dominated by evergreen tree species with scattered deciduous trees such as Dipterocarpus kerri, Anogeissus acuminate, Pometia pinnata and Lagerstroemia calyculata.
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Leaves a span long, cordato acuminate; the laminae all pointing downwards, glossy green and glabrous above.
Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia 2003
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The leaflets are rather large, 7 x 3.5 to 11 x 5.5 cm and ovate to elliptic in shape, with a pronounced acuminate tip.
Chapter 8 1996
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Evaluating Alnus acuminate as a component in agroforestry systems.
Chapter 8 1996
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The leaflets are rather large, 7 x 3.5 to 11 x 5.5 cm and ovate to elliptic in shape, with a pronounced acuminate tip.
Chapter 11 1990
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Leaves opposite, variable in size and shape, but essentially ovate to cordate with a deep basal sinus, acuminate.
Chapter 37 1987
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The leaves are cordate-orbicular to ovate-orbicular, strongly acuminate, 15-30 cm long and broad; the petioles are thickened at the base with ear like projections that often encircle the stem.
Chapter 37 1987
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GUNN, J.A. (1944) A comparison of the biological and chemical assays of Atropa belladonna and Atropa acuminate.
Chapter 5 1953
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Conico-acuminate: in the form of a long, pointed cone.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology John. B. Smith
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It bears some resemblance to _Proteoteras æsculana_, but differs from it in the following particulars, so far as can be ascertained from the poor material examined: The primaries are shorter and more acuminate at apex.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 363, December 16, 1882 Various
brtom commented on the word acuminate
" A couched spear of acuminated granite rested by him ..."
Joyce, Ulysses, 12
January 13, 2007
knitandpurl commented on the word acuminate
"From the stern keep of the Norman overlord issued forth decrees and exactions; in a world of wood, wheat and water, its high stone walls were the most adamantine confirmation of the temporal order, just as the acuminate spire of the church pricked the oppressive heavens."
Psychogeography by Will Self, 145
October 16, 2010