⚡ Very rapid onset 👃 Extremely sensitive

hyperacute

8.4

Able to notice very small changes or faint signals

adjective
/ˌhaɪpərəˈkjut/

Specialized

: hipersensible

With her hyperacute sense of hearing, she could pick up whispers from far away.

Examples

Some animals, like dogs, are hyperacute when it comes to detecting certain scents in their environment.
I'll tell you what else I've learned over the years: there sure must be a lot of people in the world who are hyperacute to "the smell of disapproval."

Blog text (13)
The hyperacute observation from the researcher helped identify subtle differences in the experimental results.

Synonyms

sensitive

vshyperacute

217 2.7

Able to feel small physical changes, pain, or touch

is far more extreme and tuned to subtle differences than simple responsiveness

hypersensitive

vshyperacute

6 6.7

Easily affected by emotions, touch, or noise and reacting strongly

is much more finely tuned to detect very small stimuli rather than general reactivity

ultrasensitive

vshyperacute

Specialized

1 6.2

Able to notice very small changes or weak signals

is focused on detecting small stimuli and subtle differences

hypersensitized

vshyperacute

Specialized

1 8.6

Very sensitive to a substance or trigger after earlier exposure

is inherently extremely responsive for detecting tiny differences rather than from prior exposure

Antonyms

hyposensitive

Specialized

9.2

Feeling and noticing touch, pain, sound, or emotions less than normal

How Sensitive

hyperacute

Specialized

8.4

acute

21 4.1

sensitive

217 2.7

dull

15 1.6

insensitive

Specialized

5 4.5

Surface Forms

hyperacute positive

Morphology

hyperacute = acute (transparent) = hyper + acute

The meaning is a straightforward intensification of acute, with hyper- adding the sense of excess.

Etymology

Hyperacute is made of the parts hyper- ('over' or 'very') and acute ('sharp'). Think of it as 'very sharp' senses, so a hyperacute sense can notice tiny or faint things that others do not.