Acute
The crossword clue "Acute" is answered by DIRE, a 4-letter entry. Used 7 times across 7 distinct years; most recently in 2021; first recorded in 2000. It appears in 4 publications in the xd corpus. Every figure on this page comes from the collection data itself, never from a guess.
The answer
DIRE
4 letters. See every clue for this answer on the DIRE answer page.
Used 7 times across 7 distinct years; most recently in 2021; first recorded in 2000. It appears in 4 publications in the xd corpus. Frequency and last-seen figures come from the xd crossword corpus only.
Other answers for this clue
The same clue has also been answered these ways in the xd corpus. Answers inside this collection link to their own answer page.
- CRUCIAL (1 uses in xd)
Other clues for DIRE
Every other clue in this collection answered by DIRE, most used first.
- Urgent - used 71 times, most recently in 2023
- Calamitous - used 69 times, most recently in 2025
- Dreadful - used 65 times, most recently in 2026
- Desperate - used 60 times, most recently in 2024
- Tragic - used 38 times, most recently in 2026
- In ___ straits - used 37 times, most recently in 2026
- Terrible - used 27 times, most recently in 2026
- Catastrophic - used 25 times, most recently in 2024
- Ominous - used 25 times, most recently in 2022
- Like some straits - used 24 times, most recently in 2024
- Critical - used 20 times, most recently in 2022
- Disastrous - used 16 times, most recently in 2015
- Extremely urgent - used 16 times, most recently in 2026
- Fraught with danger - used 16 times, most recently in 2019
- Very urgent - used 15 times, most recently in 2024
- Extremely serious - used 14 times, most recently in 2026
- Awful - used 13 times, most recently in 2010
- Extreme - used 13 times, most recently in 2019
- Grave - used 13 times, most recently in 2026
- ___ straits - used 13 times, most recently in 2026
- Kind of straits - used 12 times, most recently in 2015
- Pressing - used 12 times, most recently in 2026
- Like some circumstances - used 11 times, most recently in 2013
- In __ straits (desperate) - used 10 times, most recently in 2023
- Life-or-death - used 10 times, most recently in 2024
- Very serious - used 10 times, most recently in 2023
- Desperately urgent - used 9 times, most recently in 2024
- In __ straits (needing help) - used 9 times, most recently in 2025
- Like some consequences - used 9 times, most recently in 2022
- Crucial - used 7 times, most recently in 2019
- Desperate, as straits - used 7 times, most recently in 2021
- Grim - used 7 times, most recently in 2025
- Potentially ruinous - used 7 times, most recently in 2026
- Dismal - used 6 times, most recently in 2023
- Frightful - used 6 times, most recently in 2020
- Harrowing - used 6 times, most recently in 2015
- More than serious - used 6 times, most recently in 2022
- Nearly hopeless - used 6 times, most recently in 2017
- Serious - used 6 times, most recently in 2015
- Terribly urgent - used 6 times, most recently in 2023
Related clues
Clues in this collection of the same answer length that share a word with this clue, or match its answer pattern when no word is shared. Most used first.
- Acute - KEEN, used 76 times
- Intellectually acute - KEEN, used 8 times
- Mentally acute - KEEN, used 6 times
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