Do you know the definition of acumen? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word acumen, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!
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Kevin
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July 11, 2021
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What does the word acumen mean?
According to Collins English Dictionary and the American Heritage Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, the word acumen is a noun that means a keen insight, quickness of perception, high penetration of mind, faculty of nice discrimination or accuracy. This is often used in the phrase strong business acumen, which refers to someone’s financial and equivalent business skills. People with high acumen make good decisions, have a good depth of perception and keenness of judgment, as well as a keen discernment. While originally the word acumen referred to a physical thing that had a sharp tapering point, it is used figuratively in modern usage to refer to good business decisions, engineering brilliance, and other such skills. In anatomy and botany, acumen refers to a protuberance from a plant body or organ. Acumen is three syllables – ac-u-men, and the pronunciation of acumen is əkyumən.
Many different languages also contain words that mean acumen. You may notice that many of these words look and sound alike. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases in different languages that mean the same thing and look similar. These are often formed when words have the same root or language of origin. This list of translations of acumen is provided by Word Sense.
- Swedish: skarpsinnighet (common), skarpsinne (neut.)
- Italian: acume (masc.), perspicacia (fem.)
- Spanish: perspicacia (fem.)
- Finnish: terävä-älyisyys, äly, terävyys
- Portuguese: perspicácia (fem.), sagacidade (fem.), agudeza (fem.)
- Icelandic: skerpa (fem.), skarpskyggni (fem.), skarpur skilningur (masc.), skörp greind (fem.), (business acument) vit
- German: Scharfsinn (masc.)
- Japanese: 慧眼 (けいがん, keigan), 聡明, 洞察力 (どうさつりょく, dōsatsuryoku)
- Mandarin: 慧眼 (huìyǎn), 精明 (jīngmíng), 敏銳, 敏锐 (mǐnruì)
- French: sagacité (fem.)
- Bulgarian: проницателност, прозорливост
- Russian: проница́тельность (fem.), сообрази́тельность (fem.), прозорли́вость (fem.)
- Esperanto: sagaceco
- Polish: przenikliwość (fem.), bystrość (fem.)
- Dutch: scherpzinnigheid (fem.)
- Czech: bystrost (fem.)
What is the origin of the word acumen?
According to Etymonline, the word acumen has been used since c16 Middle English. This word comes directly from the Latin noun acumen/Latin acūmen sharpness which means a point or a sting. Hence, this word is figuratively to refer to mental sharpness or shrewdness. This comes from the Latin acuere meaning to sharpen. This is related to the Latin acū, the stem of acuere and acus needle. This word comes from the Proto-Indo-European roots ak. Related words include accuracy, acuminous (adj. Formed with suffix nous) and acuminate (v., formed with suffix ate).
How can the word acumen be used in a sentence?
The word acumen can be used in many different sentences in the English language. Using words in a sentence is a great way to memorize their definitions. Below are several examples of acumen.
The brave warrior Mulan showed great acumen. The younger age audience members enjoyed the ballad in the American premier and wanted to be just like her. They were impressed by her good judgments and bravery.
She had showed early acumen and good decisions as a young professional, but the people above her in positions of power let their own fabled business acumen get to their heads. She was determined not to let the same deeds be done unto her.
He offered his take on the controversy of Noam Chomsky’s “universal grammar” with an easygoing acumen. While he had a good technical ability in his particular field of work and could make quick decisions and keen judgments about engineering and business matters, literature was not his strong suit.
She was willing to take business risks on the pride festival because she was confident in her business acumen skills. She could tell by the natural projection over the past years that they were experiencing outgrowth of their annual venue, so they put a deposit down on a much more expensive and larger venue near Princeton University. She and her employees were confident in her competence.
His business acumen and astuteness allowed him to perceive key metrics with regard to the big picture and increase cash flow and financial resources by a fortune. He was great at projecting scenarios.
What are synonyms and antonyms of acumen?
There are many different words that have the same meaning as the word acumen. These are called synonyms. Synonyms are a great way to expand your vocabulary and avoid repeating yourself. This list of synonyms for the word acumen is provided by Power Thesaurus.
- wits
- shrewdness
- sageness
- smarts
- profundity
- sharp-wittedness
- percipience
- wisdom
- comprehension
- perspicuity
- discrimination
- intellect
- intuition
- tact
- astuteness
- perceptiveness
- depth
- horse sense
- cleverness
- sagaciousness
- smartness
- insightfulness
- prudence
- brains
- sagacity
- understanding
- sensitivity
- brain
- gumption
- discernment
- acuity
- clear-sightedness
- insight
- judiciousness
- wit
- acuteness
- judgement
- sense
- common sense
- savvy
- perception
- perspicacity
- intelligence
- dexterity
- judgment
- canniness
- awareness
- keenness
- penetration
- sharpness
There are also many different words that have the opposite meaning of the word acumen. These opposite words are called antonyms, which are another great way to expand your vocabulary. This list of antonyms is also provided by Power Thesaurus.
- diffident person
- foolishness
- bad lot
- brainlessness
- claptrap
- dawdler
- mindlessness
- arseholery
- absence of intelligence
- ambitionless person
- cyberslacker
- cadger
- obtuseness
- crawler
- paranoia
- deadbeat
- apple sauce
- madness
- stupidity
- bystander
- ignorance
- daydreamer
- clock-watcher
- debtor
- absentee
- chav
- density
- dullness
- beachcomber
- clock watcher
- bloodsucker
- bludger
- stupidness
- avoider
- ineptness
- barnacle
- inability
- dallier
- craziness
- insanity
- denseness
- derelict
- bum
- couch potato
- black sheep
- academentia
- clinger
- silliness
- delayer
Overall, the word acumen means a keenness of mind or sharpness of wit. This word is usually used to describe smart people in the business world. This word is of Indo-European roots.
Sources:
- acumen: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense
- Acumen synonyms – 752 Words and Phrases for Acumen | Power Thesaurus
- Acumen antonyms – 319 Opposites of Acumen | Power Thesaurus
- acumen | Origin and meaning of acumen | Online Etymology Dictionary
- Acumen definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
