sharpness

Sharp  (shärp), Phillip Allen Born 1944.

American biochemist who shared a 1993 Nobel prize for discovering that some genes contain sequences, known as introns, that do not function as codes for the formation of a protein.

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sharp  (shärp)

adj. sharp·er, sharp·est

1. Having a thin edge or a fine point suitable for or capable of cutting or piercing.

2.

a. Having clear form and detail: a sharp photographic image.

b. Terminating in an edge or a point: sharp angular cliffs; a sharp nose.

c. Clearly and distinctly set forth: sharp contrasts in behavior.

3. Abrupt or acute: a sharp drop; a sharp turn.

4.

a. Intellectually penetrating; astute.

b. Marked by keenness and accuracy of perception: sharp hearing.

5. Crafty or deceitful, as in business dealings: sharp selling practices.

6. Vigilant; alert: kept a sharp lookout for shoplifters.

7.

a. Briskly or keenly cold and cutting: a sharp wind.

b. Harsh or biting in tone or character: sharp criticism.

8. Fierce or impetuous; violent: a sharp temper; a sharp assault.

9. Intense; severe: a sharp pain.

10.

a. Sudden and shrill: a sharp whistle.

b. Sudden and brilliant or dazzling: a sharp flash of lightning.

11. Strongly affecting the senses of smell and taste: a sharp pungent odor; a sharp cheese.

12. Composed of hard angular particles: sharp sand.

13. Music

a. Raised in pitch by a semitone.

b. Being above the proper pitch.

c. Having the key signature in sharps.

14. Informal Attractive or stylish: a sharp jacket. See Synonyms at fashionable.

adv.

1. In a sharp manner: hit me sharp on the brow.

2. Punctually; exactly: at three o'clock sharp.

3. Music Above the true or proper pitch.

n.

1. Music

a. A sign () used to indicate that a note is to be raised by a half step.

b. A note that is raised a half step.

2. A slender sewing needle with a very fine point.

3. Informal

a. An expert.

b. A shrewd cheater; a sharper.

v. sharped, sharp·ing, sharps Music

v.tr.

To raise in pitch by a semitone.

v.intr.

To play or sing above the proper pitch.

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[Middle English scharp, from Old English scearp; see sker-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

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sharply adv.

sharpness n.

Synonyms: sharp, keen¹, acute
These adjectives all apply literally to fine edges, points, or tips. Figuratively they indicate mental alertness and clarity of comprehension. Sharp suggests quickness and astuteness: "a young man of sharp and active intellect" (John Henry Newman).
Keen implies clear-headedness and acuity: a journalist with a keen mind and quick wits.
Acute suggests penetrating perception or discernment: an acute observer of national politics.

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Sharpness

aichmophobia

an abnormal fear of pointed objects.

belonephobia

an abnormal fear of pins and needles.

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Sharpness 

See Also: PAIN, PARENTHOOD

1. (A whippet head,) barbed like a hunting arrow —Ted Hughes
2. Bite … as deadly as a camel’s —Wallace Stegner
3. Biting [language used in a book] as a chain saw —Bruce De Silva
4. (Her voice was) crisp as a freshly starched and ironed doily —Maya Angelou
5. Crisp as a handclap —Maxine Kumin

   From a poem entitled A New England Gardener Gets Personal, the simile describes how kale comes to the salad bowl.

6. Crisp as frost —Babette Deutsch
7. Crisp as new bank notes —Charles Dickens
8. (A voice that) cut like a blade of ice —G. K. Chesterton
9. Cut like a knife —Rudyard Kipling Kipling’s simile links the knife’s sharpness to the wind.
10. [Cat’s fangs … ] fine as a lady’s needle —Ted Hughes
11. Incisively as an acid (a yell bit into the situation) —F. van Wyck Mason
12. Peppery as curry —Marge Piercy
13. Sharp as a bird’s painted bill —Dame Edith Sitwell
14. Sharp as an assassin’s dagger —Mike Sommer
15. (Face as) sharp as an ice pick —Graham Masterton
16. (The longing for lovely things … became as) sharp as a pang —Ellen Glasgow
17. Sharp as a scorpion —Dame Edith Sitwell
18. Sharp as a two-edged sword —The Holy Bible/Proverbs
19. (The smell of smoke was) sharp as brimstone —John Gardner
20. (My ideas fade, yours come out) sharp as cameos —Joseph Conrad, letter to Stephen Crane
21. (Eyes) sharp as mica —R. Wright Campbell
22. (All these things fell on her) sharp as reproach —Lord Alfred Tennyson
23. Sharp as the teeth of a saw —Marge Piercy
24. Sharp as truth —John Greenleaf Whittier
25. Sharp as white paint in the January sun —Wallace Stevens
26. Sharper than birth —Madeleine L’Engle
27. Sharper than ingratitude —Anon

    This may be inspired by King Lear’s famous lament about a child’s ingratitude being “Sharper than a serpent’s tooth” in the PARENTHOOD category.

28. Sharp like joy —Sharon Sheehe Stark
29. Sharp-tongued, like a sadistic dentist —Neil Gabler Gabler, a television movie commentator, thus described a colleague, Pauline Kael.
30. A tongue like a cat o’ nine tails —Ben Hecht

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	sharpness - a quick and penetrating intelligence; "he argued with great acuteness"; "I admired the keenness of his mind" keenness, acuity, acuteness intelligence - the ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience steel trap - an acute intelligence (an analogy based on the well-known sharpness of steel traps); "he's as sharp as a steel trap"; "a mind like a steel trap"
	2.	sharpness - the attribute of urgency in tone of voice; "his voice had an edge to it" edge urgency - pressing importance requiring speedy action; "the urgency of his need"
	3.	sharpness - a strong odor or taste property; "the pungency of mustard"; "the sulfurous bite of garlic"; "the sharpness of strange spices"; "the raciness of the wine" raciness, pungency, bite spicery, spiciness, spice - the property of being seasoned with spice and so highly flavored
	4.	sharpness - the quality of being keenly and painfully felt; "the sharpness of her loss" distressingness, painfulness - the quality of being painful; "she feared the painfulness of childbirth"
	5.	sharpness - thinness of edge or fineness of point keenness acuteness - the quality of having a sharp edge or point shape, configuration, conformation, contour, form - any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline); "he could barely make out their shapes" bluntness, dullness - without sharpness or clearness of edge or point; "the dullness of the pencil made his writing illegible"
	6.	sharpness - the quality of being sharp and clear distinctness uncloudedness, clarity, clearness - the quality of clear water; "when she awoke the clarity was back in her eyes" definition - clarity of outline; "exercise had given his muscles superior definition" discernability, legibility - distinctness that makes perception easy focus - maximum clarity or distinctness of an image rendered by an optical system; "in focus"; "out of focus" blurriness, fuzziness, indistinctness, fogginess, softness - the quality of being indistinct and without sharp outlines
	7.	sharpness - harshness of manner                   asperity ill nature - a disagreeable, irritable, or malevolent disposition bluntness, dullness - without sharpness or clearness of edge or point; "the dullness of the pencil made his writing illegible"

Translations

sharpness [ˈʃɑːpnɪs] N

1. [of knife, point] → lo afilado; [of edge] → lo afilado, lo cortante

2. (= abruptness) [of bend] → lo cerrado; [of turn] → brusquedad f

3. (= clarity) [of outline, image] → nitidez f, definición f; [of contrast] → lo marcado

4. (= keenness) [of mind] → perspicacia f, agudeza f; [of reflexes] → rapidez f
his eyes hadn't lost any of their sharpness → sus ojos no habían perdido nada de su agudeza

5. (= severity) [of pain] → agudeza f, intensidad f; [of remark, tone] → aspereza f; [of tongue] → mordacidad f
there was a note of sharpness in his voice → se notaba cierta aspereza en su tono
there is a sharpness in the air → empieza a notarse el frío

6. [of taste] → acidez f

sharpness [ˈʃɑː^rpnɪs] n

[knife, razor, scissors] → tranchant m

[turn, bend] → angle m brusque

(= quick-wittedness) [person, mind] → vivacité f

[vision] → acuité f; [hearing] → finesse f

(= harshness) [tone, rebuke] → brusquerie f

(= clarity) [picture, image] → netteté f

[taste, smell] → âcreté f; (pleasant) → piquant m
sharp practice n → pratique f déloyale

sharpness

n

(of knife, blade etc) → Schärfe f; (of needle, point etc) → Spitzheit f

(of outline, photo, contrast) → Schärfe f

(= keenness, of eyes, wits, mind) → Schärfe f; (of nose) → Empfindlichkeit f; (of observation, remark) → Scharfsinnigkeit f; (= intelligence, of person) → Schläue f, → Gewieftheit f (inf); (of child) → Aufgewecktheit f

(= suddenness, intensity, of whistle, cry) → Schrillheit f; (of frost, contrast) → Schärfe f; (of desire, pain) → Heftigkeit f; (of hunger) → Größe f; because of the unexpected sharpness of the drop in prices → wegen des unerwartet steilen Preissturzes

(= acuteness, of angle) → Spitzheit f; (of bend, turn by car) → Schärfe f

(pej: = shrewdness) → Gerissenheit f, → Raffiniertheit f, → Cleverness f (inf)

(= fierceness) (of tongue, retort, tone of voice) → Schärfe f; (of person) → Schroffheit f; (of temper) → Hitzigkeit f

(= acidity, pungency, of taste) → Schärfe f; (of apple) → Säure f; (of wine) → Herbheit f; there is a sharpness in the air → es ist sehr frisch