Sharp - English meaning

adjective

Sudden and unexpected.

Usage examples:

I was surprised by the abrupt change of subject

adjective

Sudden and not expected, often with unpleasant results

Usage examples:

There was an abrupt change in her mood., we came to an abrupt curve in the road., his abrupt manner…

adjective

Sudden and unexpected, and often unpleasant

Usage examples:

Abrupt end our conversation came to an abrupt end when george burst into the room., abrupt change t…

adverb

Suddenly and unexpectedly.

Usage examples:

The film ends rather abruptly

adverb

In a sudden, unexpected, and sometimes unpleasant way

Usage examples:

He stood up abruptly and went outside., the talks ended abruptly when one of the delegations walked…

adverb

In a way that seems rude and unfriendly, especially by using very few words when talking

Usage examples:

"i don't care what you think," audrey said abruptly., i know i sometimes speak and act abruptly.

adjective

(of an unpleasant or unwelcome situation or phenomenon) present or experienced to a severe or intense degree.

Usage examples:

An acute housing shortage

noun

Short for acute accent.

adjective

If a bad situation is acute, it causes severe problems or damage

Usage examples:

She felt acute embarrassment/anxiety/concern at his behaviour., the problem of poverty is particula…

adjective

Causing great physical or mental pain.

Usage examples:

An agonizing death

verb

Undergo great mental anguish through worrying about something.

Usage examples:

I didn't agonize over the problem

adjective

Causing extreme physical or mental pain

Usage examples:

An agonizing death, she went through an agonizing few weeks waiting for the test results., we are f…

idiom

Happening unexpectedly

phrase

Suddenly.

Usage examples:

I feel really tired all of a sudden

idiom

Quickly and without warning

Usage examples:

All of a sudden we heard a loud noise.

adjective

(of a person's eyes) small, round, and gleaming.

Usage examples:

She blinks her blue beady eyes

adjective

(of eyes) small and shiny, esp. like a bird’s eyes

Usage examples:

Her beady eyes stared from behind thick glasses.

adjective

(of eyes) small and bright, especially like a bird's eyes

Usage examples:

His beady little eyes were fixed on the money i held out., she's always got her beady eyes on what …

adjective

Elegantly and stylishly fashionable.

Usage examples:

She looked every inch the chic frenchwoman

noun

Stylishness and elegance, typically of a specified kind.

Usage examples:

The hotel's lobby and restaurant are the height of designer chic

adjective

Stylish and fashionable

Usage examples:

I like your haircut - it's very chic., a chic restaurant

adjective

Stylish and sophisticated.

Usage examples:

The hotel is classy but relaxed

adjective

Stylish or fashionable

Usage examples:

That's one classy vehicle you've got there.

adjective

Easy to perceive, understand, or interpret.

Usage examples:

Clear and precise directions

adverb

So as to be out of the way of or away from.

Usage examples:

He leapt clear of the car

verb

Remove an obstruction or unwanted item or items from.

Usage examples:

The drive had been cleared of snow

adjective

Not having any characteristics that would cause doubt or uncertainty

Usage examples:

It was a clear-cut case of fraud.

adjective

Of or at a fairly low temperature.

Usage examples:

It'll be a cool afternoon

noun

A fairly low temperature.

Usage examples:

The cool of the night air

verb

Become or make less hot.

Usage examples:

We dived into the river to cool off

adjective

(of a substance) firm, dry, and brittle.

Usage examples:

Crisp bacon

noun

A wafer-thin slice of potato fried or baked until crisp and eaten as a snack.

Usage examples:

Cut down on fatty snacks such as crisps

verb

Give (food) a crisp surface by placing it in an oven or under a grill.

Usage examples:

Crisp the pitta in the oven

noun

The action of cutting something.

Usage examples:

The cutting of the cake

adjective

Capable of cutting something.

Usage examples:

The cutting blades of the hedge trimmer

verb

Make an opening, incision, or wound in (something) with a sharp-edged tool or object.

Usage examples:

He cut his toe on a sharp stone

adjective

Clearly stated or decided; not vague or doubtful.

Usage examples:

We had no definite plans

adjective

Fixed, certain, or clear

Usage examples:

We haven’t picked a definite date, but it will probably be in june.

noun

Something that is certain to happen

Usage examples:

Let's make the 9th a definite - we'll have dinner and then go to the movies., definite for she's a …

adjective

Having or showing good judgement.

Usage examples:

The brasserie attracts discerning customers

verb

Recognize or find out.

Usage examples:

I can discern no difference between the two policies

adjective

Able to make or usually making careful judgments about the quality of similar things

Usage examples:

Marion is a discerning judge of good design.

adjective

Having or showing refined taste or good judgement.

Usage examples:

He became a discriminating collector and patron of the arts

verb

Recognize a distinction; differentiate.

Usage examples:

Babies can discriminate between different facial expressions

adjective

Able to judge the quality of something based on its difference from other, similar things

Usage examples:

A discriminating music lover, discriminating buyers/shoppers

adjective

Recognizably different in nature from something else of a similar type.

Usage examples:

The patterns of spoken language are distinct from those of writing

adjective

Clearly separate and different

Usage examples:

The two languages are quite distinct from each other., the dogs are of distinct breeds., there’s a …

adjective

Clearly noticeable; that certainly exists

Usage examples:

There's a distinct smell of cigarettes in here.

adjective

(of clothes) suitable for a smart or formal occasion.

Usage examples:

Wear something dressy, kate, we've got to go to a drinks party

adjective

(of clothing) suitable for formal occasions

Usage examples:

I have some dressy shoes that i can wear to the wedding.

adjective

Dressy clothes are suitable for formal occasions

Usage examples:

I need something a bit more dressy for the wedding.

adjective

(of an object, area, or surface) having an outside edge or boundary of a specified kind.

Usage examples:

A regular square-edged tile

verb

Provide with a border or edge.

Usage examples:

The pool is edged with paving

adjective

Having something around the edge

Usage examples:

Edged with he bought a white tablecloth edged with a pretty pattern (= with a pattern around the ou…

adjective

Graceful and stylish in appearance or manner.

Usage examples:

She will look elegant in black

adjective

Graceful and attractive in appearance or behavior

Usage examples:

We met a young businesswoman, elegant in a black suit., he was known for his elegance and wit., ele…

adjective

Graceful and attractive in appearance or behaviour

Usage examples:

An elegant woman, a very elegant suit, an elegant dining room

adjective

Clearly seen or understood; obvious.

Usage examples:

She ate the biscuits with evident enjoyment

adjective

Easily seen or understood; obvious

Usage examples:

It quickly became evident that someone had broken in., twain’s interest in adam is evident in all h…

adjective

Easily seen or understood

Usage examples:

The full extent of the damage only became evident the following morning., from the smell it was evi…

adverb

Used to emphasize the accuracy of a figure or description.

Usage examples:

They met in 1989 and got married exactly two years later

adverb

In a complete and correct way; not more or less than a particular number, time, etc.

Usage examples:

We’ve come exactly 41 miles., make sure you measure the window exactly, otherwise the shade won’t f…

adverb

Used when you are giving or asking for information that is completely correct

Usage examples:

The journey took exactly three hours., that'll be £15 exactly, please., it tastes exactly the same …

adjective

Intensely painful.

Usage examples:

Excruciating back pain

verb

Torment (someone) physically or mentally.

Usage examples:

I stand back, excruciated by the possibility

adjective

Extremely painful

Usage examples:

Excruciating pain an excruciating pain in the lower back

adjective

Extremely beautiful and delicate.

Usage examples:

Exquisite, jewel-like portraits

noun

A man who is affectedly concerned with his clothes and appearance; a dandy.

Usage examples:

Using brightly coloured, almost grotesque distortion of an individual's salient features, he target…

adjective

Of extreme beauty

adjective

Characteristic of, influenced by, or representing a current popular style.

Usage examples:

Fashionable clothes

adjective

Wearing clothes, doing things, and going to places that are considered stylish or acceptable

Usage examples:

They are a fashionable couple., fashionable restaurants/clothing, fashionably dressed women, we wer…

adjective

Popular at a particular time or among a particular group of people

Usage examples:

It's no longer fashionable to boast about how big your bonus is., they bought a house in a fashiona…

adjective

Having or displaying an intense or ferocious aggressiveness.

Usage examples:

Fierce fighting continued throughout the day

adverb

Very; extremely.

Usage examples:

He was fierce proud

adjective

Violent and forceful

Usage examples:

Fierce thunderstorms, the city had been under fierce attack., she’s a fierce critic of us policies.…

verb

Shine in a bright but brief, sudden, or intermittent way.

Usage examples:

Lightning flashed overhead

noun

A sudden brief burst of bright light.

Usage examples:

A flash of lightning

adjective

Ostentatiously stylish or expensive.

Usage examples:

A flash new car

verb

(of a bird, bat, or insect) move through the air using wings.

Usage examples:

Close the door or the moths will fly in

noun

An opening at the crotch of a pair of trousers, closed with a zip or buttons and typically covered with a flap.

Usage examples:

Interesting alternatives are velcro straps or, if the shorts fit perfectly, stylish button flies.

noun

A flying insect of a large order characterized by a single pair of transparent wings and sucking (and often also piercing) mouthparts. flies are of great importance as vectors of disease.

Usage examples:

Almost 40 years ago ed lewis discovered a remarkable fly that differs from an ordinary fly by one e…

adjective

(of a blade) sharpened.

Usage examples:

A honed knife is easier and safer to handle than a dulled, nicked blade

verb

Sharpen (a blade).

Usage examples:

He was carefully honing the curved blade

verb

Past simple and past participle of hone

Usage examples:

The bone had been honed to a point., his physique was honed to perfection., her debating skills wer…

adjective

(of a person or mental process) intelligently analytical and clear-thinking.

Usage examples:

She was an incisive critic

adjective

Of extreme force, degree, or strength.

Usage examples:

The job demands intense concentration

adjective

Extreme

Usage examples:

Intense heat/cold, a look of intense joy, an intense 13-week course, he was young and intense, and …

adjective

Having or showing eagerness or enthusiasm.

Usage examples:

A keen gardener

verb

Wail in grief for a dead person.

Usage examples:

The body of johnny was taken by his own people who keened over him

noun

An irish funeral song accompanied by wailing in lamentation for the dead.

noun

An assault in which the victim is kicked repeatedly.

Usage examples:

They gave him a good kicking

adjective

Lively and exciting.

Usage examples:

Their seriously kicking debut, ‘paradise’

verb

Strike or propel forcibly with the foot.

Usage examples:

I think someone just kicked down my door

adjective

Exciting; fashionable.

Usage examples:

Kicky high-heeled boots

adjective

Fashionable and stylish

Usage examples:

He wore knee-high boots and a kicky black trench coat., check out these key trends now to find your…

adjective

Clear or obvious to the eye or mind.

Usage examples:

Her manifest charm and proven ability

verb

Show (a quality or feeling) by one's acts or appearance; demonstrate.

Usage examples:

Lizzy manifested signs of severe depression

noun

A document listing a ship's contents, cargo, passengers, and crew, for the use of customs officers.

Usage examples:

If you're a customs inspector at a port of entry you can send photos of cargos and manifests back t…

adjective

Having a visible mark or marking.

Usage examples:

A houseplant with beautifully marked, dark green leaves

verb

Make a visible impression or stain on.

Usage examples:

He fingered the photograph gently, careful not to mark it

adjective

Obvious or noticeable

Usage examples:

There was a marked improvement in my health when i started exercising., eyewitness accounts differe…

adjective

Conforming to or following what is currently popular and fashionable.

Usage examples:

It seems sad that such a scholar should feel compelled to use this modish jargon

adjective

Fashionable

adjective

(of a person or an article of clothing) smart and fashionable.

Usage examples:

A natty blue blazer

adjective

(among rastafarians) denoting hair that is uncombed or matted, as in dreadlocks.

Usage examples:

The hippie had natty blond hair, and large, vacant-looking eyes with wrinkles around them.

adjective

Stylish and tidy in every detail

Usage examples:

He's always been a natty dresser.

adjective

Particularly good, skilful, or effective.

Usage examples:

Nifty footwork

adjective

Good, pleasing, or effective

Usage examples:

What a nifty little gadget – you can use it for all kinds of things.

adjective

Quick to notice or perceive things.

Usage examples:

Her observant eye took in every detail

noun

A member of a branch of the franciscan order that followed a strict rule.

Usage examples:

A classic example was the franciscan observant friar bernardino of siena, whose cult of the name of…

adjective

Quick to notice things

Usage examples:

Carrie has a clear, observant eye., observant of cultural traditions

adjective

Easily perceived or understood; clear, self-evident, or apparent.

Usage examples:

Unemployment has been the most obvious cost of the recession

adjective

Easily seen, recognized, or understood

Usage examples:

An obvious solution, for obvious reasons, he needs to find work soon.

idiom

Exactly correct

Usage examples:

She was right on the button when she said i'd regret moving out.

phrase

Exactly on time.

Usage examples:

He arrived on the dot at nine o'clock

idiom

Exactly at the stated or expected time

Usage examples:

The plane landed at two o'clock on the dot., uk she came promptly on the dot of eleven.

idiom

Being precise with regard to a specified criterion

phrase

To a person's sense of smell.

Usage examples:

The wine is pungently smoky and peppery on the nose

phrase

Precisely.

Usage examples:

At ten on the nose the van pulled up

adjective

Able to make a way through or into something.

Usage examples:

The problem of penetrating damp

verb

Go into or through (something), especially with force or effort.

Usage examples:

The shrapnel had penetrated his head

adjective

Able to make a way into or through something.

Usage examples:

The gunpowder weapons have extra penetrative power

adjective

Involving movement into or through something or someone

Usage examples:

A penetrative thrust/attack, penetrative sex, a penetrative remark

adjective

Having or showing sensitive insight.

Usage examples:

An extraordinarily perceptive account of their relationship

adjective

Able to notice and understand things that many other people do not notice

Usage examples:

Her books are full of perceptive insights.

adjective

Having good insight or understanding; perceptive.

Usage examples:

He is a percipient interpreter of the public mood

noun

(especially in philosophy or with reference to psychic phenomena) a person who is able to perceive things.

Usage examples:

Results indicated that one of the percipients ' reports should be evaluated with special caution.

adjective

Good at noticing and understanding things

adjective

Having a ready insight into and understanding of things.

Usage examples:

It offers quite a few facts to the perspicacious reporter

adjective

Having or showing shrewdness or keen intelligence.

Usage examples:

Her piercing analysis

noun

A small hole in a part of the body, typically other than the ears, made so as to insert a ring, stud, or other piece of jewellery.

Usage examples:

This is the place to get your tattoo or piercing done

verb

(of a sharp pointed object) go into or through (something).

Usage examples:

A splinter had pierced the skin

verb

Cause (an event or situation, typically one that is undesirable) to happen suddenly, unexpectedly, or prematurely.

Usage examples:

The incident precipitated a political crisis

adjective

Done, made, or acting suddenly or without careful consideration.

Usage examples:

I must apologize for my staff—their actions were precipitate

noun

A substance precipitated from a solution.

Usage examples:

Any silver ions present form a white precipitate (silver chloride).

adjective

Dangerously high or steep.

Usage examples:

The track skirted a precipitous drop

adjective

Very steep, or falling a long way very fast

Usage examples:

Precipitous cliffs, new fads could result in a precipitous drop in sales.

adjective

If a reduction is precipitous, it happens very suddenly and is very big

Usage examples:

A precipitous decline/drop/fall the company has seen a precipitous decline in advertising revenue.,…

adverb

In exact terms; without vagueness.

Usage examples:

The guidelines are precisely defined

In a sharply exact manner

adverb

Precisely is also used to emphasize the accuracy of what you are saying

Usage examples:

Armed conflict is precisely what the government is trying to avoid.

verb

(of an event or fact) cause or bring about (an action or feeling).

Usage examples:

The violence prompted a wave of refugees to flee the country

noun

An act of encouraging a hesitating speaker.

Usage examples:

With barely a prompt, barbara talked on

adjective

Done without delay; immediate.

Usage examples:

She would have died but for the prompt action of two ambulancemen

adverb

With little or no delay; immediately.

Usage examples:

He paid the fine promptly

adverb

Quickly, without delay, or at the arranged time

Usage examples:

Start/finish promptly the meeting will start promptly at 9am., the train left promptly at 8:06.

adjective

Very noticeable or marked; conspicuous.

Usage examples:

He had a pronounced squint

verb

Make the sound of (a word or part of a word) in the correct or a particular way.

Usage examples:

Gerry pronounced the hero's name ‘cahoolin’

adverb

At the agreed or proper time; promptly.

Usage examples:

Four out of five trains were arriving punctually

adverb

At exactly the right time

Usage examples:

The meeting started punctually at ten.

noun

Question.

noun

Query.

adjective

Happening in a short time or at a great rate.

Usage examples:

The country's rapid economic decline

noun

A fast-flowing and turbulent part of the course of a river.

Usage examples:

Those of you looking for adventure can shoot the rapids

adjective

Quick or sudden

Usage examples:

Rapid growth, there’s been rapid change in china., we kept up a rapid pace., males grow more rapidl…

adjective

Very sharp

Usage examples:

These animals have razor-sharp teeth.

adjective

Lively, bold, and full of spirit; cheeky.

Usage examples:

Toni was smart and sassy and liked to pretend she was a hard nut

adjective

Rude but not seriously offensive

Usage examples:

I was a sassy kid who sometimes talked back to my mother.

adjective

Extremely hot or intense.

Usage examples:

The searing heat of the sun

verb

Burn or scorch the surface of (something) with a sudden, intense heat.

Usage examples:

The water got so hot that it seared our lips

adjective

Very hot

Usage examples:

Searing temperatures, gary felt searing pain in his leg.

adjective

Quick to detect or respond to slight changes, signals, or influences.

Usage examples:

The new method of protein detection was more sensitive than earlier ones

noun

A person who is believed to respond to paranormal influences.

Usage examples:

Thus, the positive results demonstrated by the sensitives do not appear to have resulted from ubiqu…

adjective

Having or showing awareness and understanding, esp. of other people’s feelings and needs

Usage examples:

My experience made me very sensitive to the suffering of others., tom is extremely sensitive about …

adjective

Having or denoting a jagged edge; sawlike.

Usage examples:

A knife with a serrated edge

adjective

(of something bad or undesirable) very great; intense.

Usage examples:

A severe shortage of technicians

adjective

Causing great pain, difficulty, damage, etc.; very serious

Usage examples:

A severe earthquake, the family faced severe challenges when he lost his job., severe criticism

verb

Make or become sharp or sharper.

Usage examples:

She sharpened her pencil

verb

Past simple and past participle of sharpen

Usage examples:

My pencil is blunt - i'll have to sharpen it., figurative the company is cutting production costs i…

adverb

With a sharp or steeply tapering edge or point.

Usage examples:

A sharply pointed tail

adverb

In a sudden and immediately noticeable way

Usage examples:

Interest rates rose sharply last month., the movie is sharply funny in these scenes., the current g…

adverb

In a way that is sudden and very noticeable

Usage examples:

Rise/fall sharply inflation has risen sharply., dealer sales fell sharply in august., i wrote them …

noun

The action or practice of shooting with a gun.

Usage examples:

The events that led up to the shooting of the man

adjective

Moving or growing quickly.

Usage examples:

Shooting beams of light played over the sea

verb

Kill or wound (a person or animal) with a bullet or arrow.

Usage examples:

He was shot in the leg during an armed robbery

adjective

(of a person) clean, tidy, and well dressed.

Usage examples:

You look very smart

verb

(of a wound or part of the body) feel or cause a sharp stinging pain.

Usage examples:

Her legs were scratched and smarting

noun

Sharp stinging pain.

Usage examples:

The smart of the recent cuts

adjective

Irritable and inclined to speak sharply; snappish.

Usage examples:

Anything unusual made her snappy and nervous

adjective

Stylish and attractive.

Usage examples:

Snazzy little silk dresses

adjective

Modern and stylish in a way that attracts attention

Usage examples:

Snazzy computer graphics

adjective

Smart in appearance.

Usage examples:

A spiffy new outfit

adjective

Stylish, attractive, or pleasing

Usage examples:

She got a spiffy haircut.

noun

A widespread coniferous tree which has a distinctive conical shape and hanging cones, widely grown for timber, pulp, and christmas trees.

Usage examples:

The best trees to plant with wildlife in mind are cherry and mulberry for their fruits, pines and s…

adjective

Neat in dress and appearance.

Usage examples:

Angela was a very spruce and tidy person

verb

Make someone or something smarter or tidier.

Usage examples:

The fund will be used to spruce up historic buildings

noun

An act or instance of wounding or killing someone with a knife.

Usage examples:

The fatal stabbings of four women

adjective

(of a pain or sensation) sharp and sudden.

Usage examples:

I felt a stabbing pain in my chest

verb

Thrust a knife or other pointed weapon into (someone) so as to wound or kill.

Usage examples:

He stabbed her in the stomach

adjective

Severe or bare in appearance or outline.

Usage examples:

The ridge formed a stark silhouette against the sky

adjective

Empty or without decoration

Usage examples:

Stark white walls, the dim halls made a stark contrast with the bright, sun-drenched apartment.

adjective

(of a slope, flight of stairs, or angle) rising or falling sharply; almost perpendicular.

Usage examples:

She pushed the bike up the steep hill

noun

A steep mountain slope.

Usage examples:

Hair-raising steeps

verb

Soak (food or tea) in water or other liquid so as to extract its flavour or to soften it.

Usage examples:

The chillies are steeped in olive oil

adjective

Having a sting; capable of wounding or piercing with a sting.

Usage examples:

A swarm of stinging insects

verb

Wound or pierce with a sting.

Usage examples:

He was stung by a jellyfish

adjective

Fashionably elegant and sophisticated.

Usage examples:

You don't have to be a designer to create a stylish look in your own small room

adjective

Having a special quality that makes a person or thing seem different and attractive

Usage examples:

Stylish people, stylish clothing

adjective

Occurring or done quickly and unexpectedly or without warning.

Usage examples:

A sudden bright flash

adverb

Suddenly.

Usage examples:

Sudden there swooped an eagle downward

adjective

Happening or done quickly or unexpectedly

Usage examples:

The cyclist lowered his head and put on a sudden burst of speed.

adverb

Quickly and unexpectedly.

Usage examples:

George ii died suddenly

adjective

Fashionable among wealthy or stylish people.

Usage examples:

A tony restaurant

noun

(in the us) any of a number of awards given annually for outstanding achievement in the theatre in various categories.

Usage examples:

It has collected over 30 international theatre awards including three tonys for the broadway produc…

noun

One of a set of prizes given each year to the best plays and for special achievements in the theater

adjective

Very fashionable or up to date.

Usage examples:

I enjoyed being able to go out and buy trendy clothes

noun

A person who is very fashionable or up to date.

Usage examples:

Taiwan's well-heeled young trendies

noun

Trigonometry.

Usage examples:

With all the inverse trig. functions you must carefully select the answer or answers that are appro…

adjective

Neat and smart in appearance.

Usage examples:

Two trig little boys, each in a gray flannel suit

verb

Make neat and smart in appearance.

Usage examples:

He has rigged her and trigged her with paint and spar

adverb

In a way that was not expected or regarded as likely.

Usage examples:

He died unexpectedly of a heart attack

adjective

Using or involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something.

Usage examples:

A violent confrontation with riot police

adjective

Using or involving force to hurt or attack

Usage examples:

Violent crime, the police are concerned about the possibility of violent behavior at the demonstrat…

verb

Sharpen the blade of (a tool or weapon).

Usage examples:

She took out her dagger and began to whet its blade in even, rhythmic strokes

noun

A thing that stimulates appetite or desire.

Usage examples:

He swallowed his two dozen oysters as a whet

Past simple and past participle of whet