exacuate means to hone, whet or sharpen. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
exacuate is pronounced /ɪɡˈzækjueɪt/.
Why “exacuate” is a great word
To render an edge or a point keen through precise and thorough sharpening. From Latin *exacuere*, built from *ex-* ("out," intensive) and *acuere* ("to make sharp"). Unlike "sharpen"—a general, common term for making an edge keen—or "hone"—which specifically refines an already sharp edge on a stone, "exacuate" is an archaic intensive, implying a formal and complete act of whetting. It is the deliberate, measured stroke on the oilstone that transforms a blade from merely functional to lethally perfect; the careful grinding of a quill nib to a hairline split; the patient friction that brings a thought from blunt generality to piercing truth—the forgotten craft of achieving absolute readiness.
Etymology
From Latin exacure, from ex (“out (intensive)”) + acuere (“to make sharp”). See acuate, acute.
verb
- To hone, whet or sharpen.“He hath done you wrong in a moſt high degree: And ſenſe of ſuch an injury receiv'd Should so exacuate, and whet your choler.”