acumen means quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination; acuity of mind. It carries an Arena rating of 1893, earned across 49 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, acumen ranks #74 of 42,747 for Qualifying, #120 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,059 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,207 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words.
acumen is pronounced /ˈækjʊmən/.
Why “acumen” is a great word
Quickness of perception, keen insight, and shrewdness, especially in practical matters. From the Latin acūmen ('sharp point, sting'), hence figuratively 'mental sharpness,' from acuere ('to sharpen') from acus ('needle'), first recorded in English 1525–35. Unlike astuteness, which implies cunning, worldly wisdom, or erudition, which denotes scholarly breadth, acumen is the scalpel's edge of intelligence itself. It is the investor spotting the one undervalued asset, the physician diagnosing in a first glance, the diplomat hearing the tremor beneath fluent speech—the recognition that understanding arrives not through accumulation but through incision, the needle finding the thread on the first pass.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin acūmen (“sharp point”).
noun
- Quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination; acuity of mind.e.g.“"I am going to ask you a question that does not require much legal acumen to answer," said Lord Meersbrook to his attorney, when he called the next day in Lincoln's Inn;...” — 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXXVII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 168:
- A sharp, tapering point extending from a plant.
- A bony, often sharp, protuberance, especially that of the ischium.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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