Adjacent Words

acerbic definitions

	Tweet

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: sour or bitter in taste [syn: acerb, acerbic, astringent]
2: harsh or corrosive in tone; "an acerbic tone piercing otherwise flowery prose"; "a barrage of acid comments"; "her acrid remarks make her many enemies"; "bitter words"; "blistering criticism"; "caustic jokes about political assassination, talk-show hosts and medical ethics"; "a sulfurous denunciation"; "a vitriolic critique" [syn: acerb, acerbic, acid, acrid, bitter, blistering, caustic, sulfurous, sulphurous, virulent, vitriolic]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Date: 1865 acid in temper, mood, or tone <acerbic commentary> <an acerbic reviewer> • acerbically adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 astringently sour; harsh-tasting. 2 bitter in speech, manner, or temper. Derivatives: acerbically adv. acerbity n. (pl. -ies). Etymology: L acerbus sour-tasting

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Acerbic A*cerb"ic, a. Sour or severe.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Acerbic humour is critical and direct. (FORMAL) He was acclaimed for his acerbic wit and repartee... = acid ADJ

Moby Thesaurus

acerb, acerbate, acescent, acetose, acid, acidic, acidulent, acidulous, acrid, acrimonious, amaroidal, asperous, astringent, biting, bitter, bitter as gall, burning, caustic, choleric, coarse, corroding, corrosive, crab, crabbed, cutting, dry, embittered, escharotic, green, hard, harsh, incisive, irritating, keen, mordacious, mordant, nose-tickling, penetrating, pickled, piercing, piquant, poignant, pungent, rancorous, rankled, resentful, resenting, rough, scathing, scorching, sec, severe, sharp, sore, sour, sour as vinegar, soured, sourish, splenetic, stabbing, stewing, stinging, tart, tartish, trenchant, unripe, unsweet, unsweetened, vinegarish, vinegary, virulent, vitriolic, withering