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acerbic. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
acerbic, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
acerbic in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
acerbic you have here. The definition of the word
acerbic will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
acerbic, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
Attested since the 17th century, from Latin acerbus (“sour, bitter”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
acerbic (comparative more acerbic, superlative most acerbic)
- Tasting sour or bitter.
1998 August 5, Dr. Peter Gott, “Can inhaler cause addiction?”, in Catoosa County News, retrieved 19 September 2009:Those consumers who object to the acerbic taste of garlic can purchase de-odorized garlic or allicin extract.
- (figurative) Sharp, harsh, biting.
1986 September 22, “West Germany: Last Taunts From the Lip”, in Time, retrieved 25 April 2014:Supercompetent, superconfident and supercritical, Schmidt is a gifted orator whose acerbic wit earned him the nickname "Schmidt the Lip."
2005 May 5, Jay Mathews, “Don't Fire This Professor”, in Washington Post, page T6:[H]e is one of the most acerbic people in his field, quick to take offense and not shy about telling people with whom he disagrees how much he thinks they have failed in thought and action.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
sharp, biting
- Bulgarian: саркастичен (bg) (sarkastičen)
- Catalan: agre (ca) m, aspre (ca) m, cruel (ca) m, acerb m
- Danish: syrlig, mopset
- Esperanto: acerba (eo)
- Finnish: kärkevä; pureva (fi), kyyninen (fi), sarkastinen (fi)
- German: ätzend (de), beißend (de), bissig (de), scharf (de), scharfzüngig (de), rau (de)
- Polish: cierpki (pl), uszczypliwy (pl)
- Portuguese: acerbo (pt)
- Russian: саркастический (ru) (sarkastičeskij)
- Serbo-Croatian: zajedljiv (sh)
- Spanish: acerbo (es)
- Swedish: syrlig (sv)
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