Acerb

//əˈsɜːb// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Sour, bitter, and harsh to the taste, such as unripe fruit. archaic

    "If you put Spirit of Sulphur to the Peruvian Bark, it then becomes very acerb. If you mix Mercury with Spirit of Nitre or Oil of Vitriol whilst it boils, it then is very acerb."

  2. 2
    Sharp and harsh in expressing oneself. archaic, figuratively

    "As to the somewhat acerb remarks of the member for Jacques Cartier, I may pass them over […]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    harsh or corrosive in tone wordnet
  2. 2
    sour or bitter in taste wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
acerbicacerbicacrimoniousacerbicacidacidulous

Example

More examples

"If you put Spirit of Sulphur to the Peruvian Bark, it then becomes very acerb. If you mix Mercury with Spirit of Nitre or Oil of Vitriol whilst it boils, it then is very acerb."

Etymology

From Latin acerbus, from Latin ācer (“sharp”): compare French acerbe. See acrid.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.