Hi guys
Just a very quick question that is bugging me disproportionately:
Is it tautological to say 'suddenly and acutely'? I've gone over it so many times in my own brain I'm not even sure what either word means any more.
Cheers
Claire

I don't think it's tautological - although it might depend on the context. Acutely normally means perceptive or to the point, or extreme (in the sense of acute pain for eg). I can't think of a sense in which it would be the same as sudden.

Perhaps you could express the whole thing more easily though. What's the context?

Thanks for such a quick response. I'm trying to say that someone becomes 'suddenly and acutely' aware of something. I think you're right and that the two words can have totally separate meanings in this context.
I think I was getting bogged down with the use of the word 'acute' in a medical context, ie a rapid onset being similar to the concept of suddenness.
It's probably one of those things that only the author ever notices anyway!

I'm trying to say that someone becomes 'suddenly and acutely' aware of something.

The trouble with these sorts of things is that if you're making the reader stop and think about it, then it's not working, so you may as well change it.
Personally, I would probably change it if for no other reason than because of the two -ly endings close together in the sentence.




- NaomiM

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Although, strictly speaking, the words have different meanings, in reality if something happened 'suddenly' then one's senses would become acute, so I don't think you need the 'acutely' as that can be taken as read.

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..instead you could replace it with a description of what, exactly, she's become aware of, be it a smell, a feeling, a vision, etc.

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Similarly, something that you become acutely aware of often has a sudden or fast onset, so you could just use 'acutely' and the reader will take it as read it happened quickly.

In the sense that the definition of acute is sudden onset, then it is tautology. I agree with Naomi that the two –ly endings don’t read smoothly, and they smack too much of telling rather than showing. I would re-think the scene to avoid the whole thing, if I were you.