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Sharp vs Express - What's the difference?

sharp | express | Related terms |

In obsolete terms the difference between sharp and express

is that sharp is fierce; ardent; fiery; violent; impetuous while express is a specific statement or instruction.

As adjectives the difference between sharp and express

is that sharp is able to cut easily while express is moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops.

As nouns the difference between sharp and express

is that sharp is the symbol ♯, placed after the name of a note in the key signature or before a note on the staff to indicate that the note is to be played a semitone higher while express is a mode of transportation, often a train, that travels quickly or directly.

As verbs the difference between sharp and express

is that sharp is to raise the pitch of a note half a step making a natural note a sharp while express is (to convey meaning) To convey or communicate; to make known or explicit.

As an adverb sharp

is to a point or edge; piercingly; eagerly; sharply.

As a proper noun Sharp

is {{surname}.

sharp

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Able to cut easily.
  • :
  • *
  • *:Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.
  • (lb) Intelligent.
  • :
  • * {{quote-news, author=(Jesse Jackson), title=In the Ferguson era, Malcolm X’s courage in fighting racism inspires more than ever, work=(The Guardian) (London), date=20 February 2015 citation
  • , passage=At school, despite his sharp mind, Malcolm was laughed at by teachers when he said he wanted to be a lawyer. }}
  • Terminating in a point or edge; not obtuse or rounded.
  • :
  • :
  • (lb) Higher than usual by one semitone (denoted by the symbol after the name of the note).
  • (lb) Higher in pitch than required.
  • :
  • Having an intense, acrid flavour.''
  • :
  • Sudden and intense.
  • :
  • *
  • *:She wakened in sharp panic, bewildered by the grotesquerie of some half-remembered dream in contrast with the harshness of inclement fact.
  • (lb) Illegal or dishonest.
  • :
  • (lb) Keenly or unduly attentive to one's own interests; shrewd.
  • :
  • *(Jonathan Swift) (1667–1745)
  • *:the necessity of being so sharp and exacting
  • Exact, precise, accurate; keen.
  • :
  • *{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Catherine Clabby
  • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= Focus on Everything , passage=Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus.
  • Offensive, critical, or acrimonious.
  • :
  • (lb) Stylish or attractive.
  • :
  • Observant; alert; acute.
  • :
  • Forming a small angle; forming an angle of less than ninety degrees.
  • :
  • *1900 , , (The House Behind the Cedars) , Chapter I,
  • *:The street down which Warwick had come intersected Front Street at a sharp angle in front of the old hotel, forming a sort of flatiron block at the junction, known as Liberty Point
  • Steep; precipitous; abrupt.
  • :
  • Said of as extreme a value as possible.
  • :
  • (lb) Tactical; risky.
  • *1963 , Max Euwe, Chess Master Vs. Chess Amateur (page xviii)
  • *:Time and time again, the amateur player has lost the opportunity to make the really best move because he felt bound to follow some chess "rule" he had learned, rather than to make the sharp move which was indicated by the position.
  • *1975 , Lud?k Pachman, Decisive Games in Chess History (page 64)
  • *:In such situations most chess players choose the ohvious and logical way: they go in for sharp play. However, not everyone is a natural attacking player
  • Piercing; keen; severe; painful.
  • :
  • *(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • *:Sharp misery had worn him to the bones.
  • *(William Cowper) (1731-1800)
  • *:the morning sharp and clear
  • *(John Keble) (1792-1866)
  • *:in sharpest perils faithful proved
  • Eager or keen in pursuit; impatient for gratification.
  • :
  • (lb) Fierce; ardent; fiery; violent; impetuous.
  • *(John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • *:in sharp contest of battle
  • *(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • *:A sharp assault already is begun.
  • Composed of hard, angular grains; gritty.
  • :
  • :(Edward Moxon)
  • Uttered in a whisper, or with the breath alone; aspirated; unvoiced.
  • Synonyms

    * (able to cut easily) keen, razor, razor-sharp * (intelligent) brainy, bright, intelligent, keen, smart, witty * (able to pierce easily) pointed * (having an intense and acrid flavour) acrid, pungent * (sudden and intense) abrupt, acute, stabbing * dishonest, dodgy, illegal, illicit, underhand * (accurate) accurate, exact, keen, precise * (critical) acrimonious, bitter, cutting, harsh, hostile, nasty * chic, elegant, smart, stylish * (observant) acute, alert, keen, observant, sharp-eyed

    Antonyms

    * (able to cut easily) blunt, dull * (intelligent) dim, dim-witted, slow, slow-witted, thick * (able to pierce easily) blunt * (higher than usual by one semitone) flat * flat * (having an intense and acrid flavour) bland, insipid, tasteless * (sudden and intense) dull * above-board, honest, legit, legitimate, reputable * (accurate) inaccurate, imprecise * (critical) complimentary, flattering, friendly, kind, nice * inelegant, scruffy, shabby * (observant) unobservant

    Derived terms

    * not the sharpest knife in the drawer * sharpish * sharply * sharp-witted

    Adverb

    (er)
  • To a point or edge; piercingly; eagerly; sharply.
  • * Shakespeare
  • You bite so sharp at reasons.
  • (notcomp) Exactly.
  • I'll see you at twelve o'clock sharp .
  • (music) In a higher pitch than is correct or desirable.
  • I didn't enjoy the concert much because the tenor kept going sharp on the high notes.

    Synonyms

    * (exactly) exactly, on the dot (of time), precisely

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (music) The symbol ?, placed after the name of a note in the key signature or before a note on the staff to indicate that the note is to be played a semitone higher.
  • The pitch pipe sounded out a perfect F? (F sharp).
    ''Transposition frequently is harder to read because of all the sharps and flats on the staff.
  • (music) A note that is played a semitone higher than usual; denoted by the name of the note that is followed by the symbol ?.
  • (music) A note that is sharp in a particular key.
  • The piece was difficult to read after it had been transposed, since in the new key many notes were sharps .
  • (music) The scale having a particular sharp note as its tonic.
  • Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" is written in C? minor (C sharp minor.)
  • (usually, in the plural) Something that is sharp.
  • Place sharps in the specially marked red container for safe disposal.
  • A sharp tool or weapon.
  • * Collier
  • If butchers had but the manners to go to sharps , gentlemen would be contented with a rubber at cuffs.
  • (medicine) A hypodermic syringe.
  • (medicine, dated) A scalpel or other edged instrument used in surgery.
  • A dishonest person; a cheater.
  • The casino kept in the break room a set of pictures of known sharps for the bouncers to see.
  • Part of a stream where the water runs very rapidly.
  • (Charles Kingsley)
  • A sewing needle with a very slender point, more pointed than a blunt or a between.
  • (in the plural) middlings
  • (slang, dated) An expert.
  • A sharpie (member of Australian gangs of the 1960s and 1970s).
  • * 2006 , Iain McIntyre, Tomorrow Is Today: Australia in the Psychedelic Era, 1966-1970
  • The Circle was one of the few dances the older sharps frequented; mostly they were to be found in pubs, pool-halls or at the track.

    Derived terms

    * card sharp * double sharp

    See also

    * (music) accidental, flat, natural *

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (music) To raise the pitch of a note half a step making a natural note a sharp.
  • That new musician must be tone deaf: he sharped half the notes of the song!
  • To play tricks in bargaining; to act the sharper.
  • (rfquotek, L'Estrange)

    Anagrams

    * harps 1000 English basic words

    express

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) , from (etyl) expressus, past participle of (exprimere) (see Etymology 2, below).

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (not comparable) Moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops.
  • (comparable) Specific or precise; directly and distinctly stated; not merely implied.
  • I gave him express instructions not to begin until I arrived, but he ignored me.
    This book cannot be copied without the express permission of the publisher.
  • Truly depicted; exactly resembling.
  • In my eyes it bore a livelier image of the spirit, it seemed more express and single, than the imperfect and divided countenance.
  • * Milton
  • Their human countenance / The express resemblance of the gods.
    Synonyms
    * explicit * (of a train) fast, crack
    Antonyms
    * implied

    Noun

    (es)
  • A mode of transportation, often a train, that travels quickly or directly.
  • I took the express into town.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1931, author=
  • , title=Death Walks in Eastrepps , chapter=1/1 citation , passage=The train was moving less fast through the summer night. The swift express had changed into something almost a parliamentary, had stopped three times since Norwich, and now, at long last, was approaching Banton.}}
  • A service that allows mail or money to be sent rapidly from one destination to another.
  • An express rifle.
  • * H. Rider Haggard, King Solomon's Mines
  • "Give me my express ," I said, laying down the Winchester, and he handed it to me cocked.
  • (obsolete) A clear image or representation; an expression; a plain declaration.
  • * Jeremy Taylor
  • the only remanent express of Christ's sacrifice on earth
  • A messenger sent on a special errand; a courier.
  • An express office.
  • * E. E. Hale
  • She charged him to ask at the express if anything came up from town.
  • That which is sent by an express messenger or message.
  • (Eikon Basilike)
    Synonyms
    * (of a train) fast train
    Antonyms
    * (of a train) local, stopper

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) espresser, (expresser), from frequentative form of (etyl) exprimere.

    Verb

    (es)
  • (senseid) To convey or communicate; to make known or explicit.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=We expressed our readiness, and in ten minutes were in the station wagon, rolling rapidly down the long drive, for it was then after nine. We passed on the way the van of the guests from Asquith. As we reached the lodge we heard the whistle, and we backed up against one side of the platform as the train pulled up at the other.}}
  • To press, squeeze out (especially said of milk).
  • * 1851 , (Herman Melville), (Moby-Dick) ,
  • The people of his island of Rokovoko, it seems, at their wedding feasts express the fragrant water of young cocoanuts into a large stained calabash like a punchbowl [...].
  • (biochemistry) To translate messenger RNA into protein.
  • (biochemistry) To transcribe deoxyribonucleic acid into messenger RNA.
  • Synonyms
    * (l), (l)

    Noun

    (expresses)
  • (obsolete) The action of conveying some idea using words or actions; communication, expression.
  • * 1646 , Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica , V.20:
  • Whereby they discoursed in silence, and were intuitively understood from the theory of their expresses .
  • (obsolete) A specific statement or instruction.
  • * 1646 , (Sir Thomas Browne), Pseudodoxia Epidemica , II.5:
  • This Gentleman [...] caused a man to go down no less than a hundred fathom, with express to take notice whether it were hard or soft in the place where it groweth.