Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Quickness, accuracy, and keenness of judgment or insight.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Quickness of perception; the faculty of nice discrimination; mental acuteness or penetration; keenness of insight.
- n. In botany, a tapering point. Synonyms Penetration, discernment, acuteness, sharpness, perspicacity, insight.
Wiktionary
- n. quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination.
WordNet 3.0
- n. shrewdness shown by keen insight
- n. a tapering point
Etymologies
- Latin acūmen, from acuere, to sharpen, from acus, needle; see ak- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“This specimen of legal acumen is front and center in the Cartel ` s jihad, having appeared for Viacom when it sued YouTube, for the RIAA against Jammie Thomas, single mother.”
“As before, Cole's military acumen is almost flawless, except for one hard-to-believe casualty that Cole's demonstrated savvy seems sure to have avoided.”
“That business acumen is particularly important these days as Volcom has been hit hard by the drop in consumer spending.”
The Wall Street Journal: Bridging the Divide Between the Beach and Wall Street
“Their acumen is also a testament to the kind of player Britt could be in the NFL.”
Draft analysis: Jets trade up to No. 5 to select Mark Sanchez
“But the overlap between love of books and native business acumen is fairly narrow.”
thriller author barry eisler talks about rain fall, fault line, author marketing and publishing
“Your political acumen is matched only by your apparently burgeoning music critic career ….”
“Monkey: Your scientific acumen is clearly lacking.”
“If offensive acumen is measured in first downs, the game was among the most one-sided in the history of both franchises.”
“Ambassador Tony Garza married to Maria Asunción Aramburuzabala, who has holdings in Grupo Modelo and Televisa and whose management acumen is well-recognized.”
“Harper, and those around him, don't care whether their picture is in the paper, or whether they get recognized at the hotspots in the Market, or whether their political acumen translates into household name status a la Warren Kinsella.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘acumen’.
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probablyankita's list
Words are all I have to take your heart away
apartheid, techno-klutz, logorrheic, gordian knot, anodyne, odor of sanctity, finders keepers, foot-in-mouth dis..., dutch uncle, masquerade, smoke signals, furtive glance and 320 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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Psychology
Chapter 1
rigorous, occurrence, maze, divers, intellectual, expansion, all in all, sensation, introspection, radical, orientation, nurture and 174 more...
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Words related to knowledge
Words that relate to learning, knowing, being enlightened...
revelation, eureka, awakening, idea, sapient, astute, canny, intelligent, wise, sharp, shrewd, informed and 466 more...
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acu-, acul-
sharp
Noelle Knight She was a pretty blond vampire I'd met a couple of times before, a sensible sort of individual with considerable business acumen. -Charlaine Harris, Living Dead in Dallas Dec 10, 2010
jwjarvis business acumen Sep 8, 2010
everett The inaugural entry on my "Words I dislike" list. Dec 11, 2009
bilby Don't like. *bruxes* Sep 8, 2008
adski Overused by my boss? May 26, 2008