(shärp) adjective
1. Having a keen edge or an acute point; capable of cutting or piercing.
2. Coming to an acute angle; not obtuse; angular; abrupt: a sharp peak.
3. Keen of perception or discernment; also, shrewd in bargaining; artful; overreaching: sharp practice.
4. Ardent; quick; eager; keen, as the appetite; impetuous or fiery, as a combat or debate; vigilant or attentive.
5. Affecting the mind or senses, as if by cutting or piercing; afflictive; poignant; painful; harsh; censorious; acrimonious; rigorous; stern; sarcastic; bitter.
6. Shrill.
7. Pinching; cutting, as cold.
8. Having an acid or pungent taste.
9. Distinct, as an outline; not blurred or hazy; well–defined.
10. Music Being above the proper or indicated pitch; specifically, being a half–step higher than the indicated note; sharped.
11. Hard and rough; gritty, as sand.
12. Phonet. Surd; voiceless: opposed to flat: said of consonants.
—adverb
1. In a sharp manner; sharply.
2. Promptly; exactly; on the instant: at 4 o'clock sharp.
3. Music Above the proper pitch.
—noun
1. Music A character (#) used on a natural degree of the staff to make it represent a pitch a half–step higher; the tone so indicated; on the pianoforte, the next higher key; one of the black keys: a loose use in the phrase sharps and flats.
2. A sewing needle of long, slender shape.
3. A cheating rogue; sharper: a cardsharp.
4. Obs. A dueling sword; rapier.
—v.t. Music To raise in pitch, as by a half–step.
—v.i. Music To sing, play, or sound above the right pitch. [OE scearp]
—sharp′ly adverb
—sharp′ness noun Synonyms (adj.): acute, cutting, keen, penetrating, piercing, pointed. See ACID, ACUTE, ASTUTE, BITTER, CLEVER, FINE, KNOWING, SAGACIOUS, STEEP, VIOLENT. Antonyms: blunt, dull, dulled, edgeless, flat, obtuse, pointless, round, rounded.

(shärp), William,
1856?–1905, Scottish poet and novelist: pseudonym, Fiona McLeod.