WORD OF THE DAY
If you have acumen, you are very sharp at what you do. You hope your accountant and your surgeon are both known for their acumen.
The noun acumen comes from the Latin word acumen, meaning “a point,” or “sting.” If you are able to make pointed decisions, if you have a sharp intellect, if you make good strategic moves, if you are successful in your field, or if your business instincts are spot-on, you have acumen. Even if you inherit an entire wholesale furniture dynasty from your grandfather, you could end up with nothing if you don’t have his business acumen.
Want to expand your vocabulary?
Get Word of the Day delivered straight to your inbox!
Vocabulary lists containing acumen
Words selected by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionaries. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Looking to build your vocabulary? Then practice this list of 300 "hard words" — the kind that used to be tested on the SAT before 2016. If you're a high school student prepping for the SAT, check out Vocabulary.com's Roadmap to the SAT, which focuses on the vocabulary you'll need to ace today's SAT test.
We’ve rounded up the top words heard, read, and discussed in the news this week. Take a look back at the week that was, vocabulary style.
This short story by Edgar Allan Poe features Dupin, the first fictional detective. How does Dupin solve a murder? Get some clues from this list. Read the full text here. Click here to explore other works by Edgar Allan Poe.
