Acerbic

//əˈsɜː(ɹ)bɪk// adj

adj ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Tasting sour or bitter.

    "Those consumers who object to the acerbic taste of garlic can purchase de-odorized garlic or allicin extract."

  2. 2
    Sharp, harsh, biting. figuratively

    "Supercompetent, superconfident and supercritical, Schmidt is a gifted orator whose acerbic wit earned him the nickname "Schmidt the Lip.""

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

Synonyms

All synonyms
acerbacridsouracridacrimoniousacerb

Example

More examples

"I'll try to stay on your good side, lest I get cut in two by that acerbic tongue of yours."

Etymology

Attested since the 17th century, from Latin acerbus (“sour, bitter”).

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